Fresno Eoc Board Oks Audit of Agency's Finance - GV Wire

The Council of the Commission for Economic Opportunities Fresno voted Monday to hire a minneapolis company to make a criminal audit to determine how a multimillionary operating deficit was developed.

The criminal audit will examine the expenses of 2023 and 2024 of the transport, food and administration programs, because they had the highest deficits, together with the head start. Wipfli, the company that awarded the $ 123,250 contract, was one of the three bidders. The chronology for the completion of the audit is 10 weeks.

The Member of the Assembly Joaquin Arambula, who replaced his mother, Amy Arambula, on the EOC Fresno Council last fall, highlighted the Agency’s deficit expenses when asked for a criminal audit. He said that the agency has “bleed” money, exhausting and reserves in recent years and has probably endangered its future.

However, at the council meeting on Monday night, the interim CEO, Brian Angus, who was appointed in December to run the anti-Sărăcie organization, after the Council decided not to renew the CEO Emilia Reyes contract, assured the Board of Directors that the agency’s finances include a healthy real estate portfolio.

Angus, who was engaged in the cost reduction that includes staff dismissals, said that the agency’s building is evaluated at $ 83 million. Includes the headquarters in the center of Mariposa Street.

“I put it in front of you to mitigate any idea that this agency has ever been in danger of getting out of business,” he said. “It may have been in danger of selling some properties, but I have never been in danger not to be around 10 years.”

Net deficit continued to grow

Fresno Eoc, which supervises programs such as Head Start, the local conservation and WIC body, began to exhaust their budget reserves a few years ago, when the expenses began to overcome the revenues. The commissioners have been announced since 2022 about the expenses with the net deficit. Angus was hired on board to stop the red ink and re -balancing income and expenses.

Head Start is an area where the agency has registered decreased income due to decreased registrations. Last month, Angus told the Board of Directors to close several centers due to smaller registrations.

“These decisions were not made due to the reduction of the budget. These decisions were made because we could not keep the site completely inscribed,” Angus said on Monday. “And Head Start tells us if you do not hold it at 95% registered, we will take the money away from you.”

The main start program of the agency, which offers early education to understimate children, competes with school districts that obtain state funds and encouragement to develop transient kindergarten classes.

“California who says gold plains (school district) that you have to serve 4 -year -olds and golden plains coming out and bring children to their school system, and those are the same children we serve before,” Angus said. “And so there are only so many children and now there are two school systems and head start all compete for the same child.”

Deleting the language Dei

The head of the Start also says Fresno EOC and other agencies that offer childhood education services, that they have to stop training DEI immediately, given the recent presidential order, said Angus.

He proposed to revise the job descriptions of the Agency to eliminate any language that refers to diversity, equality and inclusion while the executive order of President Donald Trump to interrupt DEI could extend to this.

The members of the Board of Directors continued to ask if the Commission had to take such draconian steps at this time, but after several discussions they approved a motion of the Board of Directors, Debra McKenzie, to strike the language of the job and also work with the staff to replace it with a language that will reflect the agency.

Some members of the Board of Directors have expressed dissatisfaction and even anger in the fact that they had to make the change, but they acknowledged that Fresno Eoc cannot risk losing federal financing in this regard.

“We do not question us the drafting of anything. We question us the change of our fundamental practices because of an armed word, this is what questioning,” said Commissioner Alysia Bonner. “Although, once again, I understood that we get federal funds, but it is almost as if we participate (in) the greed that happens in the world when we do this. We say in silence that we agree with it.”