This is an archive of a past election. See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/fr/ for current information. |
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Measure A Require Approval Prior to City Council Expansion City of Fresno Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required Pass: 34272 / 64.75% Yes votes ...... 18661 / 35.25% No votes
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Index of all Measures |
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Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | Full Text | ||||
Shall Charter Section 1504, which requires the automatic addition of two new City Council offices when Fresno's population reaches 540,000, be amended to include a public review process and require City Council and voter approval prior to adding two new Council offices when Fresno's population reaches 650,000?
If this measure is adopted, Council will establish a public review process to consider adding two Council offices when the City population reaches 650,000. The public review process will be initiated within 180 days from the date of receipt of the State Department of Finance validated population figures. Once the public review process is completed, Council will decide on whether to place before the voters, a ballot measure adding two Council offices. Membership on the Council will increase from seven (7) to nine (9) members, if the ballot measure receives a majority vote.
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Arguments For Measure A | Arguments Against Measure A | ||
Fresno's government is slated to grow and we cannot afford it. Charter Section 1504 dictates when Fresno reaches a population of 540,000 residents, two new Council seats must automatically be added, increasing Council from seven to nine members. At a time when the City is struggling to preserve core services, such as public safety, Fresno cannot afford government growth.
Following a Charter Review Committee in 1992, the Council proposed this trigger for an automatic expansion of government. For the past 18 years, Section 1504 has remained a quiet provision. With our projected growth rate, we will likely hit 540,000 in 2013. More Council offices will be costly to taxpayers. The minimum cost for the scheduled expansion is $600,000 per year. There will also be additional costs of redistricting and capital improvements to accommodate new Councilmembers and staff. Presently, each Council district represents approximately 72,000 residents. Should Fresno add two new seats as presently scheduled, that number would drop to 60,000 residents per district. In contrast, the national average for cities over 400,000 is approximately 84,000 residents per district, and in California's ten largest cities, of which Fresno is ranked fifth, the average residents per council district are approximately 98,000. To properly align the size of our Council with peer city standards, we propose amending the Charter to raise the population threshold to 650,000 before considering expanding the Council. This figure would be consistent with state and national averages. Furthermore, any Council expansion would not be automatic. Instead, it would trigger a public review of adding two Council seats. The Council would then vote to place the expansion on the ballot for voters to ultimately decide. We urge you to vote Yes. Growth of government should neither be automatic nor necessary. Voters should determine whether Fresno can afford government growth.
s/ Lee Brand
Who are they kidding! There's not a Council Meeting that goes by these same four City Council Members, who support stopping more representation for you on the Council, don't dole out more money in various ways greater than the amount the new Council Members will cost. Just four years ago City Voters said NO to the same question before us now. What is it about No from the voters they don't understand? In 1992 the Council appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee who selected a working committee to bring a set of recommendations to the voters on changing the structure of the City's government. The Council selected only part of the suggestions and placed those before the voters. The City's electorate overwhelming supported the measure that in part said:
That figure was arrived at to correspond with the size of the City's urban area growing to what it is today, 144 Sq. Miles. That's (1/3 the size of the City of Los Angeles)
s/ Denise McPeters
| What is the price of Representation? $600,000 or more? No one knows! In countries that do not give their citizens any representation - it's priceless.
Now our own City Council is telling us they cannot afford to implement the additional representation that was promised in 1992 when the citizens voted in the current charter.
s/ Callie Ward
s/ Lee Brand
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Full Text of Measure A |
Section 1504 of the Charter of the City of Fresno is amended as follows:
(1) All provisions in this Charter for a requirement of an "affirmative vote of at least four members of the Council" or any similar language requiring four votes shall be deemed changed to require "affirmative vote of at least five members of the Council." |