Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission staffers who help low-income Fresno County residents apply for utility assistance programs received layoff letters on Friday.

It was unclear Monday whether the agency, which was created nearly 60 years ago as an anti-poverty nonprofit, will be able to continue provide the assistance service.

A staffer who asked not to be identified by name out of fears of retribution told GV Wire on Monday that he and about 20 other co-workers were called to a meeting on Friday where they learned they would be laid off on March 7.

The employees were told the layoffs were “due to budget constraints.”

“People were asking questions like, what does that do for our community? All these people that we help all year,” the staffer said. “They said, ‘We don’t have answers for that right now.'”

The staffer said LIHEAP has handled more than 2,000 applications for energy assistance.

There was no immediate response Monday morning from Fresno EOC for a request for comment.

On Tuesday, spokesman Jose Moreno said in an email that the “potential staffing reductions will not impact our ability to assist residents,” and Fresno EOC remains committed to providing LIHEAP services. He said the staffer inaccurately quoted the supervisor regarding whether the agency could continue to provide services.

The staffer said the human resources officials told LIHEAP employees that if any of them were retained, it would be by seniority, attendance, and discipline.

“But you take half the crew away and keep just a few, now you’ve got about five or six people doing the work of 20-something,” he said.

Big Financial Hole

Fresno EOC’s financial challenges have been known to the Board of Commissioners since at least 2022. But they moved into the public spotlight after Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who appointed himself to the board last fall, wrote a letter to his fellow commissioners in November expressing concerns about how the Fresno EOC has been burning through its cash reserves and “hemorrhaging” money by failing to align expenses with revenues.

Related Story: When Did Fresno EOC Finances Start Their Downhill Plunge?

He has called for a forensic audit.

In December, the commission opted not to renew the contract of then-Chief Executive Officer Emilia Reyes and brought back a former CEO, Brian Angus, to serve as interim CEO while the board seeks a new CEO.

At last month’s board meeting, the commissioners received presentations from three of the agency’s programs — food services, transit, and Local Conservation Corps — on their budgets for this year that will either be balanced or will show surpluses by the end of 2025.

Angus told the commissioners that he was taking budget-cutting steps, but he did not elaborate in the open session.

Earlier Warning of Layoffs

The staffer said that LIHEAP employees were told back in September that they might be laid off but subsequently received a letter from the human resources director saying that the company was healthy and there would be no layoffs.

On Friday, the staffer said, “I even asked the question, how did we get to this point? And they couldn’t even answer that either. Especially after just being told we were — everything was looking good.”

Moreno said in the email Tuesday that the staffer provided inaccurate information. “Leadership explained that the potential staffing reductions are due to LIHEAP-specific budget constraints, not an overall Fresno EOC deficit. LIHEAP operates with its own budget based on its funding sources.”

He said funding has fluctuated and assistance programs nationwide were hit with a $2 billion cut. Moreno said nearly 38% of low-income families struggle with energy costs, and the $4.1 billion requested for 2025 won’t meet the nation’s needs.

About EOC

The private, nonprofit agency was created during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The goal of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was to obtain equality of opportunity in education, employment, health, and living conditions for every American. Fresno EOC was one of 900 Community Action Agencies created through the act and was founded in 1965.

The agency serves more than 100,000 Fresno County residents annually through more than 30 programs. The programs include Head Start, School of Unlimited Learning, Local Conservation Corps, food services, Women Infant and Children, and energy services.

Moreno said Fresno EOC is continuing to accept application for the 2025 LIHEAP program. The benefits include the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which provides one-time financial assistance; the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), which provides emergency assistance for low-income households facing a crisis; LIHEAP Weatherization, which provides free energy-efficiency upgrades to reduce utility costs; and energy-efficiency education and budget counseling.

For more details on eligibility and the application process, go to https://fresnoeoc.org/energy.