Fresno city leaders are set to negotiate the city budget in private, despite a recent court ruling that declared their previous practice illegal. The city’s budget committee was disbanded after a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Northern California and the First Amendment Coalition, but Mayor Jerry Dyer plans to meet with council members in private to reconcile the budget.

Background on the Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed after an investigation by Fresnoland found that the city’s budget committee was meeting in private, in violation of state law. The city claimed that the committee was exempt from the law, but a court ruling last month found that this was not the case.

Despite the ruling, Mayor Dyer plans to continue meeting with council members in private to negotiate the budget. He claims that this is necessary due to the short timeframe for approving the budget, and that it is similar to the way the state and federal budgets are negotiated.

Concerns Over Transparency

However, some have raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the budget negotiation process. The city’s budget hearings are public, but the negotiations that take place after the hearings are not. This has led to concerns that the public is not being given a full picture of how the budget is being decided.

Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza has defended the private negotiations, saying that they are necessary to iron out the details of the budget. However, others have argued that the public has a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and that the budget negotiation process should be more transparent.

Original reporting: Fresnoland — read the source article.