Fresno leader proposes transparency reforms after city contracts scandal

City Councilmember Miguel Arias is bringing forward a new city policy that addresses a number of transparency and accountability gaps uncovered by a Jan. 7 Fresnoland investigation. 

Arias’ proposal directs the city’s administration to create an all-in-one online, searchable transparency page on the City of Fresno’s website, where all contracts worth $100,000 or less would be listed, along with their amounts.

The transparency page would also lay out all lobbyist contracts, a list of all lobbyists registered with the city and disclosure forms for city officials’ economic interests — also known as California’s Form 700. 

“This will ensure the policy is crystal clear going forward and the public’s ability to access this information doesn’t take nearly a year, as experienced by Fresnoland,” Arias said.

Originally, Arias said he’d support reforming the city’s transparency, such that all no-bid contracts, not just those worth $100,000 or less, are accessibly listed on the city’s website. Four other councilmembers also told Fresnoland that. 

The current draft of the policy does not require that level of transparency.

Arias also said the proposal would expressly bar city officials from entering into multiple contracts with a single consultant worth $100,000 or less — the sum of which in a single fiscal year is greater than the city’s $100,000 contracts threshold. 

Only city contracts greater than $100,000 require Fresno City Council approval. Fresnoland’s Jan. 7 investigation found that city officials have regularly handed out millions in government contracts worth $100,000 or less — and the public has no way to see how many get handed out. 

Additionally, Fresnoland found at least a dozen examples of the same consultant ending up with multiple contracts worth $100,000 in a single fiscal year, whose total sum was greater than the city’s contracts threshold. 

“If it wasn’t for Fresnoland’s reporting, the full city council and the public wouldn’t have known about contracts that were signed and exceeded the contracts limit, in violation of the municipal code as confirmed by our legal counsel,” Arias told Fresnoland.

What about the ‘pass-through expenses’ loophole?

For years, former Councilmember Luis Chavez entered into under-threshold contracts with a company run by political consultant Alex Tavlian using public money. 

Fresnoland found that Chavez’s council office paid Tavlian’s company more money than the city’s contracts threshold, even though they never went before the Fresno City Council for approval. 

Chavez did that three years in a row. 

Additionally, Fresnoland found that the City of Fresno was using an internal legal interpretation to exempt “pass-through expenses” from the city’s contracts threshold, as opposed to Fresno city code, policies approved by the city council, or the city’s administrative orders. 

City Manager Georgeanne White told Fresnoland that Chavez’s use of more than $31,000 of public funds for Facebook ads didn’t count toward the city’s contracts threshold. Another city official clarified that’s because they were seen as pass-through expenses. 

According to the current draft of Arias’ policy, pass-through expenses would be subject to the city’s contracts threshold, closing what he referred to as a loophole in city policy. It essentially allows a councilmember to use an unlimited amount of taxpayer money for social media ads as long as they were reimbursements to an outside consultant for pass-through expenses.

Arias told Fresnoland that the policy will also include a blackout period blocking top city officials from using city funds for print or digital advertisements six months before an election they’re participating in — either a ballot measure or a specific political race. 

“I am confident these changes will reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of the actions identified through Fresnoland’s reporting, and addressed by the City Attorney,” Arias said.

It’s unclear how much support Arias’ proposal will receive, although it’s slated for discussion at the Jan. 29 city council meeting next week. 

In a press conference on Jan. 7, hours after Fresnoland’s investigation was published, Councilmembers Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson promised to take action to reform city policies.

Another city leader seeks to revise city policy in private

Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi is moving forward with establishing an ad-hoc committee to come up with revisions to a number of city policies. Since it is an ad-hoc committee, its focus is limited and it will also meet in private. Members of the public will not be able to observe these behind-the-scenes conversations. 

Karbassi declined Fresnoland’s request for an interview but responded to questions over text. 

Fresnoland asked Karbassi why he chose to make the committee private, and whether there are any advantages in doing that. 

“It’s not about advantages vs disadvantages,” Karbassi said. “Policymaking (is) central to our jobs as elected representatives. The public expects us to commit to doing the hard work on their behalf. Not every single meeting with every person or group at every hour of every day is held in public for all to see. That’s chaotic.”

He added over text that he thinks it makes sense for the committee to operate in private since it would be getting into policy minutiae.

“Since it is very dense policy work, I don’t think it will be productive to hold public hearings like a permanent standing committee,” Karbassi said over text. 

Karbassi has, in the past, preferred closed-door conversations for policy discussions. 

Karbassi’s proposal would empower the ad-hoc committee to review city policies and make recommended adjustments, including on the city’s “Transparency Act and the San Joaquin River and Bluff Protection Initiative.” 

The committee would need to be approved by the Fresno City Council next week on Jan. 29.