fresno elections 2008

Based on the very limited information currently available to me, I rank the morgue as number one priority, food and safety second and offices third.

Unfortunately, non-incumbent candidates cannot make intelligent priority decisions because the county makes it a habit to not release up-to-date financial data to the public. When in financial crisis, management needs daily information to see the direction it is headed. One would expect the county has such information, but the public and the non-incumbent candidates do not. The way things are playing out, I anticipate such information will be released to the public in March of 2009, long after the June 3, 2008 election and the swearing-in ceremony. As an accountant, I make priority decisions based on sound financial data. Unless I am provided with that data, I cannot give unequivocal answers to these questions. I don’t know how deeper in deficit we will be at the close of the current fiscal year. In fact, prioritizing spending may be academic—for all we know, the County may already be insolvent.

The new morgue is the highest priority. The county has tobacco securitization funds to pay for the majority of this facility. This project is coming to the board for approval this year. The ag center concept is being considered now. It appears that there is a good possibility of a private/public partnership that could have economic development advantages for the county.

I lead the effort to establish our county facility committee that is reviewing facility needs and advising the board on priorities related to facilities.

Construction needs exist because the County Board has failed to do anything about them before there is a crisis. For years the County Board has been a reactive body – never planning for future needs. The only reason the juvenile facility was built was because of the negative publicity (“Hall of Shame”) about the old facility. The County should have prioritized, budgeted and planned for the new construction needs with a dedicated building reserve fund. What we need to do now is establish priorities and start developing a building reserve fund. I believe the ag, food and safety center, as well as the morgue, needs to be co-located. It also should be done in conjunction with the City of Fresno. The offices for County employees are of less importance and can wait out the budget crisis.
Eventually, offices should be co-located with City of Fresno employees for efficiency and better service to the public.

I would like to see an agriculture, food and safety center built first because our local economy is driven by agriculture. If there are ways to get produce to market quicker I want to invest in these solutions. I would prioritize the morgue next, followed by county departments, but not before we looked at ways to let developers share the cost of those new buildings. Smart growth also means new development needs to pay its fair share of the public services budget.

Currently developers pay fees for sewer and water lines, parks, traffic, and other recreational sites for public benefit. As growth occurs a clear nexus exists between building new facilities and serving a growing population.

There may be opportunities to partner with California State University Fresno on the Ag center and morgue. I would like to see teaching centers built where Ag and criminology students could learn from the happenings at both centers. Grant opportunities would exist for this type of partnership.

Finally as the new business parks are developed and built out the tax revenue would generate another funding source to pay for the new facilities.

After fulfilling our primary responsibility of protecting public safety, other facility needs can be considered. Each of the projects mentioned has merits and a constituency that
should be heard. Bearing in mind that we are simply not in a financial position to independently fulfill every worthy construction goal, I would give due consideration to the arguments offered for each competing proposal. There are various factors to consider. These include prioritizing facilities involved in delivery of mandated services,
public health and safety concerns, and the availability of grant monies or funds from sources other than the county’s general fund.