Dyer proposes $2.55 billion Fresno budget, limits hiring and adds services

Mayor Jerry Dyer has proposed a $2.55 billion Fresno budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, a spending plan that tries to keep core services intact while absorbing contracts, leases, software costs and inflation that are rising faster than city revenue.

The proposal matters most at the household level: it will shape how quickly Fresno fixes streets, how many officers the city can staff, how aggressively it responds to homelessness and whether routine city services keep pace with demand. Dyer said revenues are still growing, but not fast enough to cover the city’s expanding obligations without restraint on hiring.

That restraint shows up in the personnel plan. The budget adds only a small number of general-fund positions, including one sergeant and five officers for another Homeless Assistance Response Team. Beyond that, the city is limiting hiring to help close the gap between spending and receipts.

Even with those limits, the proposal still makes room for visible city services and public-facing priorities. Dyer’s budget includes a 10-year tree-trimming plan, a citywide America 250 celebration and a stronger emphasis on homeless services. Those additions point to a budget that is less about broad expansion than about picking a few highly visible areas to protect or grow.

For Fresno residents, the biggest winners are likely to be street maintenance and homeless response. The city says its street network spans more than 1,800 miles, and its average pavement condition index is 60, which it describes as fair or at risk. Fresno’s Pave More Now program, a $100 million bond, is the city’s largest single investment in road improvements in city history, underscoring how central road repair remains to the city’s priorities.

Homeless outreach is also a continuing focus. The city describes HART as a long-running effort to connect vulnerable residents with outreach and housing resources. When the unit was announced in 2022, it included 18 outreach workers from Poverello House, 10 code enforcement employees and one sergeant plus six officers from the Fresno Police Department.

The budget now goes to the Fresno City Council, which can recommend changes before final approval by the June 23 deadline. Council President Nelson Esparza said the council will examine how the plan was balanced and whether it affects city services, signaling a likely debate over what Fresno can afford to expand, and what it may have to hold back.