Four Fresno City Council members were no-shows at the special meeting Wednesday afternoon that was called for a last-minute attempt to remove a city sales tax from the November ballot.

Because of the lack of a quorum, there could be no vote and that means the county’s Measure C replacement — now known as Measure S — will be one of two local taxes on the ballot for city residents.

Fresno County supervisors on Tuesday authored a resolution naming Better Roads Safe Streets “Measure S.”

Councilmembers Brandon Vang, Miguel Arias, and Nick Richardson waited two hours before Vang, as acting council leader, said there would be no vote Wednesday. Absent were Council President Nelson Esparza, and council members Mike Karbassi, Annalisa Perea, and Tyler Maxwell. Maxwell’s absence was more notable because he had joined with other council members in seeking the meeting when Esparza had declined to schedule it.

The council had a deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday to vote on removing the city’s measure from the ballot.

Richardson said having two measures on the ballot threatens both. He said that he wanted to have a public discussion about the merits of taking the city’s measure off the ballot prior to any vote.

“I voted to put it on the ballot at the last meeting. I think for me to vote to put on the ballot and then vote for me to pull it off the ballot, I have to hear some convincing arguments, Richardson said. “That’s what a public forum like this is for.”

City Attorney Andrew Janz said a lawsuit by supervisors against County Clerk James Kus and Gov. Gavin Newsom creates uncertainty about Measure S remaining on the ballot.

“Given the totality of the circumstances and the lingering uncertainty, it makes sense that the Mayor and Council had a backup plan they are now using as a last and final resort,” Janz said Wednesday in a statement.

Public Attendees Incensed About Meeting Absences

The Better Roads Safe Streets campaign proponents called out the four absent councilmembers.

“Voters within Fresno city limits will now have to sort through two proposals, weigh which one actually funds road repairs, and figure out which one is just a general fund grab dressed up as a transportation fix,” the campaign said in a statement. “We trust Fresno voters to see through the confusion and support Better Roads, Safe Streets.”

Arias said an invitation to participate remotely had been sent to each councilmember.

About a dozen members of the public began chanting, “you called the meeting, we showed up” and “no on (Fresno Mayor Jerry) Dyer’s tax” after waiting about an hour.

This comes after a marathon meeting on July 31 that went until 11:30 p.m. to approve putting the half-cent sales tax before voters. City officials said the general tax could be used for road repair and public transit, although the tax measure could not be specific. General tax measures only require a 50% plus one vote to pass rather than a two-thirds majority that’s required for a specific tax.

Richardson said it shows how out-of-touch politicians can be, especially following that late-night meeting in July.

Why Were They Absent?

Maxwell said he was unable to be at the meeting.

“Unfortunately, I had a preexisting commitment that did not allow me to be present at today’s meeting,” Maxwell told GV Wire. “It was my sincere hope that a conversation could have still taken place despite my absence.”

Karbassi posted on Facebook an official announcement stating he would not be present because of a “sudden, serious medical emergency affecting a member of his family.”

Neither Esparza nor Perea responded to requests for comment from GV Wire.

With both Esparza and Maxwell absent — president and vice president, respectively — Vang helmed the meeting, reminding the public that a quorum was needed before the body could discuss removing the half-cent sales tax from the ballot.

Related Story: Fresno Supes to Sue Newsom, Kus Over Better Roads Measure. City Calls Special ...

The Odyssey of the City’s Tax Measure

The city’s half-cent sales tax has had a will-there-or-won’t-there-be journey since its announcement last month.

In July, councilmembers Esparza, Karbassi, and Maxwell originally proposed the general sales tax along with Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer when it appeared that the Better Roads Safe Streets measure would not qualify for the ballot because of a delay by Fresno County supervisors.

At a news conference, Dyer said not having a replacement for Measure C would mean millions lost to the city to support public works and public transit.

He wavered several times in the days before a Tuesday decision by supervisors.

On Tuesday, supervisors approved a resolution to put Measure S on the March 2028 ballot. Supervisors Garry Bredefeld, Buddy Mendes, and Nathan Magsig said Better Roads Safe Streets did not meet the 88-day deadline outlined in state law to be on the November ballot, so they were voting to put it on the March ballot instead.

However, Kus said he interpreted a state law passed last week and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to mean that he would put whatever measure the supervisors approved on the November ballot — even if the supervisors had other intentions.

The supervisors then voted 3-2 to sue Kus and Newsom, naming Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Clovis City Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck, and the Better Roads Safe Streets Initiative as parties of interest.

As of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Kus said he has not received the county’s resolution.

Fresno city officials had supported the city tax in the event there would be no county tax. Dyer estimated 217 city jobs could possibly be lost by the absence of Measure C funds, which brought in $54 million last year to the city. That includes 93 employees from the Fresno Area Express, 85 from the Public Works Department, and 39 from the Capital Works Department.

The city’s general tax was estimated to raise $64 million annually. By contrast, Measure S would raise about $40 million annually for the city, according to its estimates.