Fresno County Sheriff to Provide Huron Policing Through June Under $1.68M Contract

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors approved a retroactive $1.68 million contract Tuesday to extend the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement services in the City of Huron through at least June, with an option to extend services another six months through the end of 2026. The six-month term is retroactive to the beginning of the year and continues the county presence that began filling in for Huron in October.

About five months ago in October the Sheriff’s Office began filling in for Huron’s law enforcement needs when the city’s police department was operating far below budgeted strength. Huron had funding for 15 police officer positions but only had six officers on staff when the county started providing assistance, creating gaps the county moved to fill.

Huron Police Chief John Hall provided an update on staffing and the county role, saying the department now has 10 officers with four additional candidates going through the hiring process. Hall praised the Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol for support, saying, “Sheriff has been absolutely phenomenal,” and, “We had a great continuity of services. There was no break in public safety patrol functions.”

The Board-approved contract is structured as a six-month retroactive agreement that began at the beginning of the year and contains an option to increase the service term for an additional six months through the end of 2026. The action by the Board keeps the county-delivered patrol presence in place while Huron recruits toward its 15 funded slots.

County practice of using retroactive revenue agreements for municipal public safety services is reflected in recent Board documents that show similar language for dispatching contracts. A Legistar item for a different agreement with the City of Fowler spells out a retroactive revenue agreement with Year One funding of $125,571 and a potential total not to exceed $766,621 over a three-year base term with two optional one-year extensions. That Legistar language also notes the Sheriff’s communications center is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides dispatching and 911 services for the county and partner cities including Sanger, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Orange Cove, and Fowler.

County leadership has previously signaled a willingness to step in during Huron’s staffing crisis; Sheriff John Zanoni was reported as having provided full-time law enforcement services to the city last year when the situation became precarious. The Sheriff’s Office also advertises recruitment and P.O.S.T. academy requirements for Deputy Sheriff recruits, underscoring the training pipeline involved in rebuilding sworn ranks.

While the Board motion secures county-provided policing in Huron through June and preserves the option to extend through the end of 2026, key contract details remain unspecified in public materials: the exact calendar date of Board approval, the precise start date of the retroactive term, the $1.68 million budget breakdown, and the number of deputies assigned under the agreement. For now, the agreement locks in county support as Huron works to restore its police staffing to the 15 funded positions.