The Fresno City Council makes decisions on the scope, direction and financing of city services, such as water, sewer, police and fire protection. It also establishes policy that is administered and implemented by city staff, as well as establishing land-use policies through the General Plan and zoning regulations.
Meetings usually occur at 9 a.m. on Thursdays at the Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno Street. They are also available to participate in via Zoom and are webcast.
In Fresno, the city clerk and the city attorney serve the council, not the mayor.
Who are the Fresno City Council Members:
Tyler Maxwell, President, District 4
Annalisa Perea, Vice President, District 1
Mike Karbassi, District 2
Miguel Arias, District 3
Luis Chavez, District 5
Garry Bredefeld, District 6
Nelson Esparza, District 7
(As of January 2023)
Meeting Notes
Fresno City Council votes on leadership in first meeting of the year
The Fresno City Council re-elected Councilmember Mike Karbassi for a second term with the president’s gavel on Thursday during the first meeting of 2026, the last year that most of these politicians serve their term in their respective districts. Central Fresno Councilmember Nelson Esparza was also elected as vice president. The vote comes after an…
Former Fresno councilmember used $30K in taxpayer funds for Facebook ads during election year
This is Part 2 of Under-the-radar contracts. No oversight. Part 1 of Fresnoland’s investigation is available here. Just 11 days after the Fresno City Council doubled the city’s contracts approval threshold to $100,000, former Councilmember Luis Chavez inked a new contract with Alex Tavlian’s consulting company worth that exact amount. It was July 2024 —…
Following Fresnoland investigation, councilmembers pledge to increase spending transparency
Just three hours after a Fresnoland investigation revealed numerous examples of hundreds of thousands of dollars of under-the-radar public spending, two Fresno city councilmembers pledged to beef up oversight of the city’s smaller-dollar contracts. At a six-minute Wednesday news conference at Fresno City Hall, councilmembers Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson said they’d lead the effort…
Did Fresno city leaders find a contracts ‘loophole’ to avoid oversight?
This is Part 1 of Under the radar contracts. No oversight. Hours after it published, two Fresno city councilmembers hosted a news conference, pledging to increase transparency on how city leaders hand out contracts. Part 2 of Fresnoland’s investigation is available here. In June 2024, Fresno City Hall was in the middle of a busy…
Fresno council, supervisors passed a lot of new laws in 2025. Here’s a breakdown
Just as it promises to be at the federal level, 2026 will be a critical year for politics in Fresno. This time next year, both local chambers of government — the city council and county board of supervisors — will have likely gone through a radical shift in their make-up, as many current office holders…
‘Why the hell should you trust the city?’ Fresno packs City Hall to oppose southeast mega-development
A southeast Fresno mega-development known as SEDA is now on shaky political ground Thursday after residents packed City Hall to the rafters to tell the Fresno City Council that the project’s $3 billion shortfall and its potential to hollow out Fresno Unified with school closures was unacceptable. In a 5-2 vote, the City Council asked…
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