The city of Fresno must make serious cuts in order to balance its budget after learning Measure G will likely go down in defeat.
New election numbers revealed the No side leads by 800 votes. There are only 600 ballots left to count, so the Yes campaign looks to be mathematically eliminated.
Members of the No on Measure G campaign were overjoyed Wednesday to learn they have just about sealed up a victory.
“A lot of people expected us to lose, but we were able to overcome the odds and tell city hall that the people and everyone involved wanted something different,” said Dillon Savory of No on Measure G.
The Yes team argues that their opponents simply tricked voters.
“That's the no side's objective. They want to misinform and try and confuse and suppress turnout. I think only 13.6% of the voters voted against Measure G and the rest stayed home, so the no side did its job,” said Tim Clark of Yes on Measure G.
“I regret we are in this position and yet we're in this position,” said Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of Fresno.
Meanwhile at city hall, Mayor Ashley Swearengin presented a revised budget plan for the next fiscal year. The city faces $2.85 million shortfall.
With it looking like residential trash service will continue to be the city's responsibility, the mayor offered up options to recoup the franchise fees Mid-Valley Disposal would have paid.
Plan one is to eliminate 25 police officers through attrition, meaning when someone leaves, that position is not filled. The move would save $1.7 million.
The other option is to layoff 42 people in various city departments, which would save $1.6 million.
Mayor Swearengin favors the civilian cuts.
“I just don't think it makes sense to see more officers leave our city streets. We're at 715 officers today and that's far too low,” said
Measure G opponents don't want to just take their win and run, the plan is to stay involved.
It's now about bringing the city together. Working together to find solutions to fix the budget holes and repair our divided city,” said Randy Ghan of No on Measure G.
All of the Measure G numbers remain unofficial. The county clerk still needs to certify this election, which is expected to take place on or before June 28th.