Sanger City Council Criticizes Chamber Over Missing Required Financial Reports

The Sanger District Chamber of Commerce has gone nearly a year without submitting a required quarterly financial report to the city, and when the Sanger City Council set aside time at its March 19 meeting for the chamber's CEO to appear and present an update, he didn't show.

The March 19 meeting included a dedicated agenda item for a quarterly compliance report from the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce. City Manager Nathan Olson had formally requested the presentation in a Feb. 9 letter to Chamber CEO Isaiah Lopez, but received no response even after following up on March 6.

Lopez did not appear at the council meeting, and Olson informed the council that Lopez had reached out that morning to say he had "some training" and asked that the presentation be moved to a future meeting.

The city allocates approximately $80,000 annually to the chamber to organize community events and promote local businesses. According to the staff report, the chamber has not provided a quarterly report for nearly one year.

The February letter went beyond the missing reports. Olson also requested verification regarding "reports in the community" of a possible investigation into the chamber by the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, concerns about the chamber's "limited financial ability to continue operations," and a supposed break-in at the city-owned building occupied by the chamber. Verification was requested in the form of updated quarterly reports from July 1, 2025 to the present, audited financial statements for calendar years 2024-2025, and documentation addressing the DA investigation claims and the break-in. The letter set a deadline of Feb. 23, 2026 for the chamber to respond. According to Olson at the March 19 meeting, no such materials were ever provided.

The Fresno County District Attorney's Office offered no clarity on the investigation question. "Our office does not confirm or deny any potential investigation to protect the integrity of any investigation, should one exist," said DA spokesperson Taylor P. Long.

Council members were pointed in their closing remarks. Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez said many of these issues could have been handled in an office rather than in the council chamber. "This isn't Congress, this isn't a subpoena to have someone come testify in front of us, this was a date to provide us an update, a simple update," Martinez said.

Mayor Frank Gonzalez was the last to speak and addressed residents concerned about the rumors referenced in the staff report. Though he did not directly name the DA investigation, he read off the compliance challenges and said each one is "not a rumor." "We don't deal with rumors, none of us," Gonzalez said. "We are up here to do city business, and that's it. We're not trying to get rid of the chamber." He closed by suggesting the chamber may need different management: "I think the chamber, for good or bad, might need some different leadership."

Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado echoed disappointment over the chamber's communications, including comments made to media outlets. "I don't like the bad publicity it's given us as a city and also the chamber," Hurtado said, adding that she believed the dispute could be resolved without public back-and-forth and recommending that city staff refrain from further media contact until a direct meeting or the planned presentation has taken place.

As of the meeting, the chamber had not responded to requests for comment.