FRESNO (KMJ) — Fresno’s Fire Chief has called for action to be taken now to solve a staffing crisis within her department. It comes after Mayor Lee Brand withdrew his Parks and Public Safety Sales Tax initiative, citing a lack of support from Fresno City Council.
“If we actually want to grow our public safety to match the needs that are actually happening today, it’s going to take an initiative that brings in new revenue streams into this city,” said Chief Kerri Donis.
“I think it’s a good time to do that. We can’t keep pretending we’re going to fix it with our current revenue streams. It was disappointing that we couldn’t have the votes to bring that forward and allow the people to vote.”
Mayor Lee Brand’s initiative required the approval of Fresno City Council before it could go to the voters as part of the November ballot. The proposal was withdrawn Thursday morning, with the official announcement coming an hour before the meeting was scheduled to start. It would have seen an extra half-cent added to sales tax, with the proceeds going towards police, fire, and parks. Following that decision, Councilman Steve Brandau stated that the matter could come back in two years (click here to read more).
“I would not recommend leaving it for two years…but I think that’s the way our Council is set up,” said Donis. “They have the authority to put it on the ballot and let the voters vote and I hope that that changes.”
Fresno’s Fire Chief admitted that taxes are never popular, but warned that investment is needed to combat stagnant growth at Fresno Fire Department.
“We have to do more with less, and that puts a fire chief and a police chief in a very awkward position. Our role is to make sure our citizens are served in a timely way, and we try to do the best we can but we also have to balance the safety of our members.
“It’s like having a football team with no subs on the side and they have to play both ways – offense and defense – and they do that all day long running calls.
“Pretty soon you’re going to have injuries and you’re going to have dangerous situations happen, and that gives me pause as a fire chief.”
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
