What's at stake:
Councilmember Tyler Maxwell pushed for funding that would allow the City Attorney to continue going after illegal evictions and combat wage theft.
Councilmember Tyler Maxwell on Thursday motioned to fund the Eviction Protection Program in next year’s city budget and establish a full unit to combat wage theft in Fresno.
Both matters, which are handled by the City Attorney’s Office, were not included in Mayor Jerry Dyer’s budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year. Maxwell’s motions will have to be advocated for by a group of councilmembers in negotiations with the mayor’s administration following budget hearings.
“I think if we want to be a successful and serious city about addressing homelessness and poverty, that we have to do more proactive things instead of dealing with those issues on the back end,” said Maxwell inside council chambers Thursday, referring to the Eviction Protection Program as a homelessness prevention measure.
Assistant City Attorney Christina Roberson told the City Council that the Eviction Protection Program has gone beyond its initial mission of responding to pandemic-related housing conditions.
“There are still plenty of people being evicted for unlawful reasons in the city that have nothing to do with the fact that they can’t pay their rent because of COVID,” said Roberson inside council chambers Thursday.
Roberson added that one common theme is landlords who attempt to evict their tenants for reporting code issues to code enforcement.
Maxwell said he initially did not intend to keep the program alive, with the bevy of other needs and programs that also need resources impacting not only the entire city but his own distinct in particular.
But then he checked the numbers.
Since 2021, the Eviction Protection Program has helped at least 1,440 tenant cases, ranging from navigating the eviction process to providing direct legal representation from outside law firms contracted with the city to represent Fresno renters in eviction court, Roberson told the City Council.
In the last three years, the Eviction Protection Program has gotten 186 evictions dismissed in court, according to Maxwell. The program has also prevented another 367 evictions from being filed in court and kept 580 evictions from getting on tenants’ records.
Additionally, the Eviction Protection Program has received requests for help from residents from all over Fresno, according to figures Maxwell sent to Fresnoland. Higher concentrations in call volume are in south and central Fresno.
Maxwell’s motion called for $2 million in funding for the Eviction Protection Program, which was quickly seconded by Councilmember Mike Karbassi.
Maxwell’s other motion, to establish a wage theft unit in the City Attorney’s Office, was seconded by Councilmember Miguel Arias.
City Attorney Andrew Janz confirmed to city staff that the new unit would get state funding, which is expected by August.
Back in February, the Fresno City Council gave Janz the power to prosecute employers that chronically fail to pay workers wages they deserve. Assembly Bill 594, which passed the California legislature last year, opened the doors to local city attorneys taking wage theft cases into their own hands.
The Fresno City Council also approved a number of items Thursday prior to continuing budget hearings. That includes signing off on a plan from city staff explaining how it will spend an anticipated $13.3 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The largest use of funds is $5.36 million that would be put toward improving access to affordable housing, increasing its development and promoting its preservation.
The total sum of grants have the following four funding sources:
- Community Development Block Grant ($7.38 million)
- Home Investment Partnerships ($4.28 million)
- Emergency Solutions Grant ($657,300)
- Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids ($1.03 million)
The City Council also approved a $5 million contract with West Valley Construction Company, Inc. to replace water mains in Calwa. Existing infrastructure “may be prone to unexpected failures due to inferior steel water mains installed as early as 1934,” according to a staff report.
The council also moved forward with a staff recommendation to establish a land bank with a focus on affordable housing development.
“Land banking provides governments the ability to hold abandoned, vacant, and tax delinquent properties for future developments with additional influence over the locations suitable for development that fulfills local priorities,” according to a staff report.
