FRESNO COUNTY – A policy that supporters claim will allow county officials to better focus their time on serving the public has been pushed through by a narrow majority of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
The board voted 3-2 on Sept. 9 to approve Administrative Policy (AP) 81, which restricts county departments from celebrating or recognizing any holiday or special theme in an official or public capacity unless the board has approved the celebration. Supervisors Luis Chavez and Brian Pacheco opposed the policy.
This action follows a similarly divided July decision in which the board approved AP 80, requiring departments to obtain prior board approval before using discretionary funds to support non-county events or causes. That policy was sparked by Board Vice Chair Garry Bredefeld after he took issue with county funds being used to distribute rainbow condoms and lubricant at a local LGBTQ+ Pride event.
“All of us up here are very diverse, we have different backgrounds, and I respect all of that, but the best services that we can provide as a body are those when people come and interface with us. They don’t know my politics, they don’t know my sexual preferences, they just know that I work for the county, and I’m here to serve them,” Supervisor Nathan Magsig said. “So I can be very supportive of this policy based upon that.”
As per the policy, the board must approve celebrations by resolution or proclamation through the standard agenda item process. This extends to any “holidays, themes, events, days, weeks or months,” according to the policy.
Currently, the only things treated as celebrations are paid holidays currently observed by the county, often accompanied with office closures. This includes federal holidays, Cesar Chavez Day and the day after Thanksgiving. A county staff report said departments would ideally plan ahead and submit requests to the board for celebrations occurring within the next six to 12 months.
The county administrative officer (CAO) will have the ability to authorize a celebration – subject to ratification later on by the board – only under a couple of instances. This will be if the department head both learns of it prior to the next scheduled board meeting and it would occur prior to the next meeting, and if the CAO believes it is something the board would approve.
Ordinary workplace celebrations such as ones for employee birthdays, milestones or retirements would be exempt from the policy. The original policy draft also included an exemption for “employee-organized holiday festivities,” which Bredefeld asked to be removed for clarification. Chavez and Pacheco opposed this edit, citing concerns over censorship and the potential to expose the county to any liabilities.
CAO Paul Nerland said the policy still would not extend to dictating what employees may choose to celebrate during their lunch hour, pending how public-facing that celebration is and how it affects their services to the public.
“I don’t really feel that’s an adequate answer to say ‘impacting services,’ because their lunch time is their lunch time, and we have no control over what they do or how they do on their lunch,” Pacheco said. “Again, I did not support this when it came before us. I appreciate the clarification, but I think it just creates more problems.”
Public dissent
Multiple Fresno County residents spoke against the policy and said it would allow personal and partisan beliefs to determine whether the county recognizes entire groups of residents. One resident said the policy appears directed at a certain demographic, and that it is unreasonable that five people’s “beliefs and prejudices can possibly restrict the celebration of an entire community.”
Those opposed also said they believe the policy shows “bad faith” toward county departments and leaders, as department heads and employees like library staff are professionals who should be trusted to represent the interests of their communities.
“I say … that this is just a blatant attempt for control by this board in the latest attempt to take power away from the local county organizations, and also our minority communities, especially (by) our lovely Supervisor Bredefeld, who seems to love being a discounted version of our president,” Fey, a resident who only provided their first name, said.
Another resident, who only provided the name Kimmy, asked the board to oppose the policy because it unnecessarily restricts departments from celebrating and recognizing important cultural, educational and health services. Originally from New York and new to the area, Kimmy said Fresno County’s reputation as being one of the most diverse counties in California factored into the decision to move.
“Policies like AP 81 send the message that some communities, like our LGBTQ+ neighbors, do not deserve to be celebrated or recognized unless politicians say so,” Kimmy said. “That’s not what I was told that Fresno County was about.”
In response to public comment, Supervisor Nathan Magsig — who seconded Bredefeld’s motion to approve the policy — said what’s important to him is that the policy ensures the county celebrates “those things which are as inclusive as possible.”
