Could the Fresno Council of Governments (FresnoCOG) possibly disintegrate due to the controversial disagreements over the Measure C renewal effort?
While there has been no official movement for any government body to leave FresnoCOG, the question was raised during last week’s FresnoCOG Policy Board meeting on what would happen if Fresno County left.
The backstory: Last month the FresnoCOG Policy Board moved to abandon the government-led process to renew Fresno County’s half-cent transportation tax.
With a government-backed initiative out of the way, social justice groups took the measure that was crafted by the Measure C Steering Committee last year and launched a citizens initiative, which would only need a majority vote to pass, compared to a two-thirds approval threshold had it been placed on the ballot by the county.
The battle lines have roughly seen the Fresno County Board of Supervisors push for a version of Measure C that would place the focus on roads, while the social justice-backed initiative would give nearly 30% of tax funds to public transportation.
What they’re saying: Reedley Mayor Matthew Tuttle, who has largely been in sync with Fresno County throughout the Measure C process, raised questions about the County’s involvement in FresnoCOG, asking staff what typical protocol was like between other counties and their local councils of governments throughout the Central Valley.
FresnoCOG Executive Director Robert Phipps said that counties are involved in their local councils of governments throughout the Valley, noting that some counties – such as Madera County – play an outsized role given the lack of incorporated cities.
Tuttle mused what would occur if the Joint Powers Agreement that formed FresnoCOG would remain secure if a government decided to leave, asking, “I’m thinking, what happens if the County is not part of our JPA with COG? Any Idea?”
Fresno County Counsel Doug Sloan, who also advises FresnoCOG, said it is “hard to even conceive of.”
“I think it would be more of a logistical and financial issue than a legal issue,” Sloan said. “Under the JPA, any organization involved can withdraw. Now I’ve not heard that been suggested at all, but I think that would be complicated.”
Sloan to recuse himself: The Policy Board held a debate that lasted around one hour on Sloan’s role representing FresnoCOG and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Last week Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld directed Sloan to look into the proposed citizens initiative to see if it violates election law by utilizing the work paid for through FresnoCOG.
The board discussed the conflict of interest that the investigation created for Sloan. Sloan said that the investigation created a conflict of interest for his work with FresnoCOG.
The board considered a vote to hire a new attorney who would handle all Measure C items for FresnoCOG, but it failed. The board then took another vote on hiring outside counsel to advise FresnoCOG on all issues, but that failed as well.
Sloan will recuse himself from all Measure C discussions with FresnoCOG while conducting the investigation.
Finding some common ground: The FresnoCOG Policy Board has yet to find all of its members on the same page throughout the last year, but one item finally found some common ground.
Measure C Steering Committee facilitator Mark Keppler asked the board for more money. He stepped into the facilitator role last August after former facilitator Kendall Flint left in a mutual decision between her and FresnoCOG.
Keppler agreed to a $50,000 contract when he became the facilitator and said he would track his hours, since the original plan was to have the Steering Committee have its Measure C plan in by October. The Steering Committee worked into December, so Keppler submitted an invoice of over $95,000 for his work.
FresnoCOG staff proposed to the board to give Keppler $75,000. The board opted against giving Keppler the extra $25,000 on a unanimous vote, leading one mayor to quip, “That might have been the first unanimous vote on Measure C right there.”