After a ceremonial swearing-in at City Hall, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer laid out his first priorities in office. He said his first order of business is an initiative to house those experiencing homelessness.
Dyer emphasized helping people who have made encampments along the city’s freeways.
“I’ve been working over the last several months with the governor’s office, as well as Caltrans and CHP,” he said. “And we’re going to be relocating those individuals from the freeway into housing beginning this month.”
Dyer said he expects to complete the move in the first 45 to 60 days of his administration. He also detailed a new initiative to increase Fresno’s curb appeal, called Beautify Fresno. Dyer said the initiative will compile city resources targeted at clean up efforts.
“Whether it’s our sidewalks, our streets, picking up litter, or graffiti abatement,” he said. “We’re going to be merging all of those different functions under one department in the city.”
The department will conduct what Dyer calls, neighborhood blitzes, to begin restoration and cleanup efforts.
And with his extensive career in law enforcement, Dyer commented on Wednesday’s unrest in the U.S. Capitol.
“It was a shock to me to know that people could enter into one of our most sacred governmental buildings in the United States of America and to be able to overtake it without the security measures in place to keep those elected officials safe,” he said.
Dyer said he looks forward to welcoming Fresno’s incoming police chief, Paco Balderrama, who will be sworn in on Monday. He plans to work closely with the police department on reducing violent crime in Fresno and implementing police reform recommendations.
