City Councilmember Miguel Arias jokingly referred to Fresno’s annual budget hearings as the “Hunger Games” on Monday.

Fortunately, there was no Cornucopia bloodbath. The opening presentation on the budget overview was relatively mundane — numbers on top of numbers presented by Edward Chinevere, budget department assistant director.

Chinevere, making his first budget presentation to the city council, even joked his budget was “beautiful.”

The city is expected to raise $527.7 million for the general fund in Fiscal Year 2026. Most numbers are up slightly — sales, property and other taxes. However, carryover funds — built up in prior years from federal recovery dollars — are down.

Two-thirds of general fund spending goes toward public safety.

On the first of four days when each department makes its presentation, the council heard from general services, information services, finance, airports, and parks.

Closing a $50 Million Gap

Arias, ever the question asker, wanted to know how Mayor Jerry Dyer said the budget is facing a $20 million shortfall in March, to a $50 million shortfall in May, and how the gap was closed. The city is required to pass a balanced budget.

The answers, Assistant City Manager Ruthie Quinto said, could be found in Dyer’s letter in the 466-page budget book.

Dyer said the one-time $27.6 million in carryover from the American Rescue Plan Act funds “cannot be relied upon for FY26, exacerbating the financial outlook.”

Other projects such as the Eviction Protection Program ($1.5 million) and Landfill Capital Project ($1.3 million) added to the imbalance.

“Hundreds of adjustments were made to both FY25 and FY26 projections, including reductions in non-essential positions and defunding certain initiatives,” Dyer wrote when explaining cuts.

The cuts are based in part on attrition, leasing instead of purchasing vehicles and equipment, and bonding for projects like paving.

Trolley Folly

Another cut was to the city’s trolley service. The city will eliminate Thursday night service, except for ArtHop nights. The move would save more than $292,000 per year.

The city said in the last year, 11,000 riders used the trolley service.

Councilmember Brandon Vang floated an idea of using the trolley for the Big Fresno Fair in October. City Manager Georgeanne White said it may not be economically feasible for such service, but trolleys could be chartered out, bringing in $8,000 in revenue.

Annalisa Perea, who chartered the trolleys for PorchFest, made a motion, allocating $10,000 for the council to charter the trolleys.

Where Do You Want to Fly Today?

Airports Director Henry Thompson did not reveal any new destinations from Fresno Yosemite International Airport. He did say the city is in competition with several other airports to add flights.

Thompson wants to add more flights to the East Coast, Florida, and other beach destinations. The most-distant flights go is Chicago O’Hare and Atlanta on a seasonal basis.

Charlotte, through American Airlines, could be the next destination, Thompson said.

Vang wanted to know about flights to Minneapolis — which like Fresno, has a large Hmong community. Thompson said it is a marketat the top of Fresno’s list, but a direct flight right now is unlikely. Delta serves as the hub in the Twin Cities, and usually routes flights through Salt Lake City.

Remember the Measure A Committee?

In 2018, Fresno voters passed Measure A by more than 70%, which among other things established cannabis taxes, 10% of which would go to a community benefit fund. Measure A also established a nine-member committee to make recommendations on spending, with picks from the mayor and council.

Nearly seven years later, the city council has not established the committee, nor made any appointments. Now that 13 cannabis shops are operating in the city, budget officials say $559,000 is in the community benefit fund.

Cannabis is expected to generate $3.4 million in revenue for FY 2026. At one point last year, the industry expected to generate $7.1 million in tax revenue for Fresno.

The city council passed spending guidelines for the fund in 2022, and White, the city manager, suggested the council have a discussion on whether the committee is needed.

The measure had a built-in section stating that the measure — including the committee — could “be repealed or amended by the City Council without a vote of the people to the extent allowed by law.”

Special Meeting

The council also added a special meeting with a vague description of discussing potential litigation. No decision was made.

A high-ranking City Hall source wishing to remain anonymous told GV Wire that the council was set to discuss legal options responding to President Trump placing Fresno on a list declaring it as a sanctuary city.

Dyer expressed confusion as to why Fresno would be on such a list.

The Department of Homeland Security webpage listing such jurisdictions was not working Monday.

“As we have previously stated, the list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly. Designation of a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on the evaluation of numerous factors, including self-identification as a Sanctuary Jurisdiction, noncompliance with Federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens,” a senior DHS spokesperson said.