The Fresno Council of Governments will not revisit a discussion on the Measure C expenditure plan, despite attorneys saying the vote to abandon the half-cent transportation tax measure did not follow procedure.
Instead, FresnoCOG Policy Board Chair Alma Beltran, the mayor of Parlier, says it is appropriate to move forward.
The backstory: The FresnoCOG Policy Board voted in early January to abandon the process to put a government-backed renewal of Measure C on the ballot this year.
Social justice groups followed up that decision with a ballot initiative of their own, kicking off the signature-collecting process.
Driving the news: The legality of the vote to abandon the process has come under question.
Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld sent an email to FresnoCOG Executive Director Robert Phipps formally requesting him to put an item on the agenda at the next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 29, to discuss the Measure C expenditure plan.
Bredefeld said the county’s attorneys and attorneys from Best, Best and Krieger (BBK) – the law firm advising FresnoCOG on Measure C – stated that the procedure on the vote was incorrect.
The Policy Board initially rejected a motion to abandon the process, before reconsidering the motion to pass it – taking two votes.
Zoom in: According to Bredefeld, county counsel and BBK stated in writing that no legal action was actually completed on Measure C because the second vote did not follow procedure.
He formally requested that Phipps place the item back on the agenda for Jan. 29, noting that Phipps is responsible for setting the agenda, despite opposition from Beltran.
What they’re saying: “We are talking about billions of dollars through Measure C and the public has the right to know what is transpiring at the COG Board and not hide from them the inappropriate actions taken at the last meeting,” Bredefeld wrote to Phipps. “If the majority of the Board still wants to abandon the nearly $1 million of taxpayer money already spent on preparing a Measure C plan in order to let the radicals run their own measure, which their ultimate goal is to force people out of their cars in order to ride a bus, bicycle or electric scooter, then that vote should be done again publicly and not hidden from the public.”
The Sun reached out to Phipps, asking if he will agendize the discussion on Jan. 29. Phipps forwarded the email to Beltran, who said the Policy Board relied on the advice of legal counsel during the last meeting and acted accordingly.
“The item was properly agendized, discussed, and voted on with counsel’s guidance,” Beltran told The Sun. “There is no legal or practical basis to revisit an action that was duly approved by the Board. At this point, it is appropriate to move forward.”