Did Fresno police get $2M grant from Legal Marijuana? No, but truth is even stranger
When you go down a Fresno government rabbit hole, no telling where it might lead. In this case, all the way to Mendota.
While perusing the Dec. 15 Fresno City Council agenda for anything I missed during a week off, one particular item leaped out: The acceptance of $1,958,057 in state funds awarded to the Fresno Police Department from Proposition 64 grants.
Hang on a second. Fresno cops are getting nearly $2 million from legal marijuana sales in California? Now there’s a headline.
Turns out that’s not actually the case. Most of the money — 62.6% of the $1,958,057 grant — is earmarked for non-governmental organizations including the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission and Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County. It will be used to hire staff, pay for internships and conduct regular youth-focused activities.
Of the remaining $733,010, Fresno PD is getting $250,000. Enough to cover three years’ worth of salary and benefits for a community services officer who, according to the grant application, “will be a liaison between Fresno City Council, licensed retail cannabis businesses, residents in the community and (police).”
An even larger share — roughly $452,500 — is headed 35 miles west of Fresno to the city of Mendota. The money will be used to pay for a community service officer and a K9 unit as well as public outreach and education over the differences between legal and illegal cannabis, City Manager Cristian Gonzalez said in an email.
Despite the sudden disappearance of my flashy headline, I continued digging. And what was unearthed is … well, kind of a puzzle.
WHERE MARIJUANA TAX REVENUES GO
When California legalized cannabis sales in 2016, the ballot measure contained specific language directing 60% of the tax revenues to youth services, 20% to law enforcement and 20% to environmental repairs.
Those funds are distributed to local governments via four grant programs, one of which is the Prop. 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program. Its purpose? To mitigate the impacts on communities that arise from legal marijuana.
Only cities and counties that have not banned marijuana cultivation and retail sales are eligible for the Prop. 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program, which is managed by the Board of State and Community Corrections. (In Fresno, only indoor cultivation is permitted.)
Since the program’s inception, 33 grants totaling $31.2 million have been handed out. None have exceeded $1 million — besides the $1.95 million awarded to the Fresno-Mendota collaboration in April 2021.
Why did Fresno and Mendota team up on this? (Woodlake and Firebaugh both applied on their own and received separate grants totaling nearly $900,000.) And why did it take 20 months for the City Council to finally approve the money?
Those were the next questions that popped up.
Furthermore, it dawned on me that Fresno’s first legal pot shops didn’t open until July — 2½ years after the council and then-Mayor Lee Brand, in January 2020, compromised on a retail sales ordinance. Meaning city officials were eagerly applying for Proposition 64 grants at a time when residents were still denied access.
Hmm.
As to why Fresno (a city of 542,000) partnered with Mendota (a city of 13,000) for state funds to address public health and safety concerns of legal weed, that remains unknown. I didn’t get the chance to interview Gonzalez, Mendota’s city manager since 2018.
By contrast, Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White was happy to talk about an arrangement she termed “very messy.”
White said the Prop. 64 grant application has been kicking around City Hall since the Brand administration until ultimately being approved by her predecessor, Thomas Esqueda, shortly after Mayor Jerry Dyer took office. (The grant application bearing Esqueda’s signature is dated Jan. 29, 2021.)
CITY MANAGER: ORIGINAL GRANT ‘A NONSTARTER’
Assistant city manager at the time, White told me she groaned after reading the staff report. Why? Because Fresno PD was “getting less than $100,000 even though they were doing all the work” of administering and reporting the $1.95 million grant.
“The original split was a nonstarter,” White said. “I asked Tommy, ‘Why would you agree to this?’ ”
The reason for the 20-month gap, according to White, was because the formula needed to be reworked into something “we could all live with.”
In addition, I’m told Mendota already purchased a new patrol vehicle with some of the grant money. White didn’t want to leave that city holding the bag.
Even so, City Hall’s straightest shooter doesn’t sound particularly thrilled with the arrangement.
“We are responsible for (Mendota) spending this money correctly,” White said. “If there’s a screw up, Fresno is on the hook.”
“It impacts us on future grant applications,” she added. “That’s why I’m sensitive.”
Legal cannabis in California has been a mixed bag. Earnings have fallen far short of projections, and the black market remains as robust as ever. Getting marijuana delivered to your front door is as easy as a few Internet clicks, and most of those services are unlicensed.
Still, those tax revenues have to go somewhere. And organizations that provide programming and opportunities for underserved youth to become productive adults are as good a place as any.
Should local law enforcement agencies share the bounty? That’s a more complicated question. But I feel slightly better knowing Fresno police are getting $250,000 from legal weed, as opposed to $2 million.
