What's at stake?
Most of the funds supporting affordable housing come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mayor Jerry Dyer said if those funds are cut, it could greatly impact Fresno at large.
Mayor Jerry Dyer’s record-breaking $2.36 billion proposed budget came together a few months after projecting a multimillion dollar budget deficit.
Key to coming up with a proposal that balances out the city’s expenses with revenue were a few strategies, including holding vacancies, making 5% cuts and minimally cutting back on services.
But in the entire 466 page document, there’s much more. Here are seven things you should know.
1. Federal funds — which support affordable housing — could be at risk, mayor says
At a news conference last week, Dyer said the potential for Fresno to be impacted by federal funding cuts is significant. For example, much of the affordable housing developments in Fresno rely on federal funding programs.
Right now, the city is developing a $32 million senior center in central Fresno, relying on a $20 million loan via the federal Community Development Block (CDBG) grant.
“If those CDBG dollars are lost, we have to find other ways to be able to support that senior center,” Dyer said last week. “We’re going to get it built, but we may have to further bond against that. Then the annual debt service would come from our general fund, which would be about $1.8 to $2 million a year.”
Most of the funds the city uses to support affordable housing developments comes from the federal government. In 2026, a total of $12 million in federal CDBG funds would be at the city’s disposal. Of that, $7 million is new funding — the same as the year prior — and the other $5 million is carryover, or unused funds from prior years.
The city would also be counting on $17 million from the federal HOME program, $4 million of which are new funds — also the same as the year prior — and the rest is carryover.
As of 2025, city officials had $11.9 million in HOME-ARPA funds. Since they used only half a million of it, there’s a remaining $11.4 million for 2026.
The city also budgeted for $2.5 million from the Local Housing Trust Fund, which provides “matching funds to local and regional housing trust funds.”
2. Sales tax revenue declines for the first time so far this decade
Ever since Dyer took office in 2021, Fresno’s sales tax revenue has increased every year.
But this year is different.
City budget staff project Fresno will bring in about $140 million in sales tax revenue for the 2025 fiscal year — about $6 million less than the prior year.
They initially projected $147 million in sales tax revenue, and they even moved that projection down to $143 million in February. Now, both are unlikely, according to Dyer’s 2026 proposed budget.
The decline in annual sales tax revenue is also the first time it’s happened so far this decade. Dyer’s 2026 proposed budget described it as an “unanticipated revenue shortfall.” Earlier this year, officials described the decline as a reflection of hard economic times.
According to Dyer’s budget proposal, it “assumes that this lower tax collection level will persist, slightly offset by the higher tax sharing arrangement with the County, and a cautious projection of a return to steady growth rates over time.”
3. Decrease to PARCS budget mostly reflects fading state and federal grants
While it looks like the Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services (PARCS) Department budget got slashed, it mostly reflects later stages of state and federal grants. Dyer’s 2026 proposal budgets for about $39 million less for the PARCS Department.
Of that total decrease, about $14 million reflects depleted ARPA funds used in the 2025 fiscal year, most of which went toward construction for the South Peach Avenue Park in southeast Fresno.
Dyer’s proposal also anticipates a $13.2 million drop in Prop 68 state grant funding, which went toward construction for the Dolores Huerta Park in west Fresno, as well as renovations for Radio Park in central Fresno.
The city’s budget for new parks and facilities from Measure P dollars will go from $13.2 million to $5.9 million in 2026 — a decrease of about $7 million. Additionally, the city’s general fund will be sending $4 million less to the PARCS budget.
4. Police department staffing remains the same despite slight budget decrease
A critical part of Fresno’s city budget is its general fund — a discretionary bucket of funds that can be used for any purpose. In Dyer’s 2026 proposed budget, the general fund is $512.4 million, greater than last year’s general fund by $25.9 million.
Across America, city police departments typically receive the largest general fund allocation. Fresno is no different: about $256.9 million, or 50.1% of the 2026 general fund, is proposed to go straight to the Fresno Police Department, making up 92% of its total budget.
While the police budget did decrease by about $5.7 million, that shift does not reflect any changes to personnel. Right now, the police department is budgeted for 930 sworn officer positions and 400 civilian positions.
Dyer’s budget proposal would also add four police officer positions to a second FAX unit, which provides security on popular FAX bus routes. The funds to pay for them are coming out of the transportation department budget, which includes $1.2 million in general fund resources.
5. Fresno’s Fire Department gets a slight increase
The Fresno Fire Department is proposed to receive the second largest chunk of the general fund — $98.9 million, or about 19.3% of it. That general fund allocation would make up 74.5% of its total budget next year.
The fire department is getting slightly more funding, too — about $3 million. Most of that is to cover the increased cost of hiring firefighters thanks to funding from the federal SAFER program. The city received $12.6 million in 2021, and another $7.3 million in 2023, according to a FEMA database.
Those funds paid for a portion of the cost to hire dozens of new firefighters. However, in the wake of those grants expiring, the city itself has picked up the cost of those new firefighters: at least $5 million in 2025, and another $6.9 million in 2026.
6. $100 million bond would balloon the city’s public works department
Dyer’s proposed budget includes an approximately $200 million increase to the Public Works Department. Half of that accounts for the $100 million bond for the mayor’s new “pave now, pay later” program, which seeks to repave roads at an accelerated pace in the next two years while deferring the cost of those repairs for now.
The other half of that budget expansion has to do with increased state grants for public works projects, including $88 million for the Blackstone McKinley grade separation project. Its goal is to raise train tracks near Fresno City College so that cars and pedestrians don’t have to stop for incoming trains anymore.
7. Four new clean energy buses on their way
The 2026 budget proposal also includes a $58.9 million expansion to the city’s transportation department — now formally known as FAX — to mostly cover the cost of replacing buses that run on natural gas, along with acquiring four new clean energy buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Bonus: How to keep up with what’s next
The Fresno City Council has already begun poring over Dyer’s proposal ahead of budget hearings next month, during which they’ll get a sense of each city department’s needs and enter various budget motions.
A big subject last summer was the city’s Eviction Protection Program, which councilmembers had to advocate for before it was included in the 2025 fiscal year budget. Unlike last year, Dyer already included funding for the program in his proposal, so councilmembers are likely to latch onto other high priority issues this budget cycle.
Budget hearings are open to the public inside Fresno’s council chambers. They run the entire first week of June, and begin every day at 9 a.m.
On June 12, the Fresno City Council will finalize its budget motions, which Dyer will view and decide how much to incorporate into a new budget proposal. The budget could get passed as soon as June 17 or as late as June 26.
The next fiscal year begins July 1, so the budget needs to be approved by the council before the end of June.
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