Fresno Officials Consider Using Parks General Fund After $1.5M Measure P Embezzlement

Fresno city officials are considering temporarily reallocating Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PARCS) general fund dollars to cover an alleged $1.5 million embezzlement tied to Measure P that has left roughly 33 grant recipients unpaid. The move is aimed at making artists whole and avoiding delays to the next Measure P arts grant cycle, city officials told local reporters.

The alleged loss is described in local reporting as at least $1.5 million and was handled through grants administered by the Fresno Arts Council. The FBI and the Fresno Police Department are investigating a long-time and now former Fresno Arts Council employee who was tasked with handling public Measure P grants, and city officials say it is unclear if or when lost funds will be recovered.

Artists and cultural organizations report project delays and financial strain. Localish reported that some artists have had to delay projects for several months because expected Measure P funds did not arrive, and one commenter identified only as Lopez said, "I have hope for our community of artists and cultural bearers to be able to find commonality in this desire for seeing Fresno as a vibrant city."

City Manager Georgeanne White spoke with Fresnoland about short-term financial remedies and the limits of city administration in arts decisions. White described the short-term use of parks general fund dollars as a way to avoid holding up the third Measure P grant cycle, and she said the administration and the PARCS Department do not "profess to have any experience in judging artistic merit." The city’s nine-member Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission, which approves Measure P arts grant recommendations each year, met Monday night for the first time since the embezzlement news surfaced; commission members Kimberly McCoy and Laura Ward were named as sources in reporting on that meeting.

The City of Fresno has terminated its contract with the Fresno Arts Council and said it is reviewing other contracts to ensure proper use of funds, Action News reported. KFSN said it reached out to both the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno Arts Council for comment and had not received responses as of its publication. Local reporting has declined to identify suspects until formal criminal charges are filed.

Measure P was approved by Fresno voters in 2018 to fund park maintenance and creation, recreation, community programs and arts programs. Fresnoland noted the arts grant cycle has started in March in the past two years, but no clear timeline was shared for when the next cycle will begin this year as city staff and the PARCS Commission weigh options to cover the shortfall.

Councilmember Miguel Arias put the alleged embezzlement in local fraud context, noting prior incidents and writing in part, "The City of Fresno lost $613,737 in a phishing scam in 2020, and in 2024, the Fresno Unified School District lost $2.3 million to a similar scheme." City officials say they are pursuing administrative reviews and cooperating with law enforcement while determining whether temporary use of PARCS general fund dollars will be necessary to pay the roughly 33 artists and organizations still waiting on Measure P awards.