Fresno County’s election office will be extremely busy Tuesday as voting for Measure G gets underway.
“We're totally ready,” said Fresno Co. Clerk Brandi Orth.
Orth and her staff have already processed 35,000 ballots which were mailed in.
“That's about a 16% turnout,” said Orth.
Voters must decide whether or not to outsource Fresno’s residential trash service to private hauler, Mid-Valley Disposal.
The battle over garnering yes and no votes in this special election has been a contentious one. Big name supporters have appeared together in television political ads.
“Measure G is essential to getting Fresno back on its feet,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.
“Measure G is a smart solution that helps avoid more public safety cuts,” said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
And then there's opposition from the labor unions.
“Don’t except the generic or canned answer. Make them quantify what they're telling you,” said Jacky Parks, President of the Fresno Police Officer’s Association.
Parks believes Mayor Swearengin has conned his boss, Chief Jerry Dyer.
“Dyer's been duped,” said Parks.
“I hardly think Chief Dyer could be duped into anything,” said Mayor Swearengin.
Swearengin says Measure G is a win all the way around. She claims it will lower a homeowner's trash bill, build up cash reserves and protect police officer and firefighter jobs.
Parks is not buying it. He says the city is twisting the numbers.
“Something smells at city hall and it's not the trash,” said Parks.
The mayor says she has been open to other suggestions.
“The only thing we've heard from Measure G opponents is we need to raise taxes or we need to borrow from ourselves more until revenues come back and neither of those things are viable alternatives to get the city back on its feet financially,” said Mayor Swearengin.
So how will this election shake out? We asked CBS47 Political Analyst, Don Larson.
“I think the bottom line is it's a complicated issue and people tend to vote no when it's complicated and that could effect the outcome,” said Don Larson, CBS47 Political Analyst.
The city of Fresno is on the hook to pay the county for running this special election. The bill is expected to total $750,000 to $950,000.