Measure P embezzlement: As city officials attend meeting of concerned artists, confusion and outrage remains
By Doug Hoagland
Speaking to 100 concerned artists and their allies at a community meeting on Monday, Feb. 9, Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White added to the confusion surrounding the status of Measure P arts grants. Confusion has spread in the city’s arts community as law enforcement investigates the alleged embezzlement of $1.5 million at the Fresno Arts Council.
Pictured above: City Manager Georganne White and Councilmember Miguel Arias address a crowd at Dulce Upfront on Feb. 9. Photo: The Munro Review
At the meeting, held at Dulce Upfront, White characterized the amount of missing money as “at least $1.5 million,” adding: No one can definitely say until an accounting is done.”
At one point, meeting organizer Ome Lopez said with exasperation and anger, “My head is spinning!” Other speakers expressed the same sentiment, underscoring that city officials have a big challenge in communicating clearly when little is currently clear about the path forward.
“The more you’re talking, the more I’m getting mixed up here,” one man said.
The city is terminating its contract with the Fresno Arts Council to administer the grants program because of the alleged embezzlement by a former Arts Council employee. Fresnoland first reported on Feb. 7 that Fresno Police and the FBI began investigating after the Arts Council informed City Hall last week about the missing money.
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Termination of that contract now creates uncertainty about how Measure P funds will help expand access to the arts for Fresno’s diverse communities.
On Monday, White stumbled when speaking about grants awarded for 2025-26. Because the Arts Council didn’t supply necessary financial data, she said, City Hall never released the $6.3 million that was approved last October for 131 arts organizations and projects.
The saga of Measure P: See past coverage in The Munro Review’s comprehensive archive
But White misspoke. Many applicants already have received their money, according to a report two weeks ago at the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission, which oversees Measure P arts grants. Commissioner Laura Ward publicly reported at the Jan. 26 meeting that awards had gone out to 92 grantees or their fiscal sponsors, with 39 others working on insurance or other issues.
The Munro Review has independently confirmed that a number of organizations received the expected installments of their 2025 grants, including the Fresno Philharmonic, the Community Media Access Collaborative, the California Alliance for Traditional Arts, and others.
White was asked at the Feb. 9 meeting how she could say the $6.3 million was never released in light of grantees receiving some of that money. She said, “I don’t know because all I have is the document I got from the Arts Council . . . I don’t know, I may be confused.”
She was asked in a follow-up question: If she’s confused, then how could she quickly address the uncertain future of the arts grants? White didn’t answer.
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White and city officials must now determine what agency will succeed the Fresno Arts Council in administering the arts grants program, which is a complex effort. It involves soliciting grant applications from nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists, finding volunteers with expertise to score the applications and then deciding who gets how much Measure P money.
White said she’s talking with members of the Fresno City Council and Mayor Jerry Dyer about next steps, adding that she believes City Hall must administer the grants program. Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias – appearing with White – told the crowd it might be best for City Hall to do that, at least in the short term.
Arias asked people at the meeting to extend “grace” to city officials and the Fresno Arts Council. But some in the audience appeared wary because, they said, they had complained for the last two years about the Fresno Arts Council operating without transparency and accountability, and City Hall did nothing.
“This process has been shit,” said Alicia Rodriguez, chair and co-founder of the LAByrinth Art Collective. Seeming to address that White and Arias now advocate that City Hall step in – White said the city has no choice – Rodriguez expressed frustration about the two officials asking for what amounts to trust.
“Stick to the facts rather than ask us to be nice to people who have betrayed us,” Rodriguez said.
The Fresno City Council scheduled a special meeting at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at City Hall. The posted agenda indicated that Councilmembers would meet in closed session to discuss with legal counsel three items of potential litigation.
