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Council renews Advanced Peace grant oversight; members press for continuity of program staff
Summary
The Fresno City Council approved a grant agreement involving Advanced Peace, administered through the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, after council members said they want the same community-based staff retained to preserve the program''s violence-reduction results; the measure passed 6-1.
The Fresno City Council on June 19 approved a grant arrangement to continue funding the violence-intervention program known as Advanced Peace, which the council funds through the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) as the fiscal agent.
Council members who spoke in favor pointed to city officials and law enforcement testimony that the program has reduced shootings and serious violence in parts of Fresno. Patrick Turner, director of training and employment for EOC and administrative director overseeing Advanced Peace at EOC, described the organization's role and told the council he shares elected officials' focus on maintaining the people who do the day-to-day work.
"The folks who are doing the work ... need to be the focus of remaining in that," Council Vice President Arias said during the discussion, urging EOC to keep the same staff who have delivered the program's results amid leadership changes at the fiscal agent.
Turner said Advanced Peace staff have intervened in specific incidents and de-escalated potentially retaliatory shootings, and that the program stopped 105 shootings in the past six months, a figure he offered to illustrate the program's reach. He described the work as complementary to law enforcement and said interventions save police resources by preventing shootings that otherwise require investigation.
There was limited debate on the dais. A motion to approve the grant agreement passed 6-1. The transcript records one opposing vote but does not give a name in the roll call recorded on the public record at the time of the vote.
What happens next: the administrative arrangement will continue under EOC as fiscal agent and city staff said they will monitor provider staffing during EOC's leadership changes; concerned council members said they will return to the council if EOC alters the team delivering Advanced Peace services.
