City Council Extends Planning Partnership Through 2031

On December 5, 2024, the Fresno City Council approved a seven-year extension to its agreement with the Fresno Council of Governments, pushing the contract’s end date from December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2031. The vote came on the consent calendar, meaning it passed without separate discussion.

The agreement governs “Overall Work Program Planning Services” — the work FCOG does as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization and state-designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency for Fresno County. That role makes FCOG responsible for transportation planning studies, analysis, and reporting across the region.

The original agreement the city is extending dates to March 22, 2017, when it replaced an even older 1991 contract. The 2017 version updated federal code references and regulatory language but kept the same core terms. The amendment approved this month changes only the end date — no other terms were revised, according to the staff report signed by Assistant City Manager Nicholas Mascia.

The Fresno COG Policy Board had already approved the same amendment on November 21, 2024, by unanimous vote.

The Breakdown

• The Fresno Council of Governments is the federally and state-designated body responsible for transportation planning across Fresno County.
• The city’s agreement with FCOG covers the planning services FCOG provides in that role — studies, analysis, and reporting on transportation projects and needs.
• The December 5 vote extended that agreement by seven years, from the end of 2024 through the end of 2031.
• The amendment changes only the contract’s term, not its scope or financial structure.

What This Means for You

This extension locks in the city’s planning relationship with FCOG for the next seven years. The council you elected chose to continue relying on FCOG as the region’s transportation planning authority rather than revisiting that arrangement on a shorter timeline.

What to Watch

The material gives no breakdown of what the city pays FCOG under this agreement, what specific planning work FCOG is contracted to deliver, or how the council measures whether that work is actually serving Fresno’s needs. A seven-year extension is a long commitment with no stated performance review built in. The staff report that supported this vote would answer the first two questions — the amount and the deliverables.