Yakima City Council Study Session: Financial Report, Community Development, and Year in Review - September 9, 2025
Yakima City Council Study Session: Financial Report, Community Development, and Year in Review - September 9, 2025
The Yakima City Council held a study session on September 9, 2025, at 5:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting covered the 2025 second quarter financial report, a community development update, and a comprehensive city year-in-review presentation. Council members present: Mayor Patricia Byers, Assistant Mayor Matt Brown, Councilmembers Reedy Berg, Janice Deccio, Rick Glenn, and Leo Roy. Councilmember Danny Herrera was absent and excused.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ken Johnsen (Yakima resident and President of Yakima Valley Trolleys) addressed the council regarding two items. First, he presented a report from Mr. Gorchester of Performance Plain LLC on the Sixth Avenue project, arguing it could be built with the full scope (track, trail, road) without new taxes by using TBD money as a match for state grants. Second, he stated that a professional inspection of the Selah line track found it in “very good condition” with only two defects (a broken rail and vegetation/tumbleweeds), which volunteers could fix at no cost to the city, contradicting claims of a $20 million needed to reopen the line.
Study Session Items
2025 2nd Quarter Financial Report
- Director of Finance and Budget Craig Warner presented a preliminary, unaudited financial update. General fund revenues were at 48.3% of budget (48.3% collected) and expenditures at 46.5%. Key points:
- Sales tax: 33.9% of general fund revenues; through six months at 43.7% of budget, projected to be $2 million short of budget due to declines in construction, wholesale trade, and leasing.
- Property tax: 24.8% of general fund revenues; collected $12.5 million (55.8% of budget), performing above average due to 1% annual increase and new construction.
- Utility taxes: 23.8% of general fund revenues; electric utility tax at 63.4% of budget, projected to exceed budget by $1.5–$1.6 million due to higher utility costs. Gas utility tax nearly at full budget already.
- Other revenues: Investment earnings below expectations due to negative amortization; licenses and permits at 71.8% due to increased building activity; franchise fees and other taxes below 50% due to delayed gambling tax reporting.
- Expenditure categories: public safety and law & justice account for 77% of general fund spending (including transfers). Salaries and benefits are 68% of general fund budget ($95.47 million). Overtime for Police and Fire not fully budgeted—expected to challenge fund balance.
- Reserves: Policy reserve lowered to 12% for 2025; as of June, approximately $4.9 million in unspent reserves remained, with a potential small surplus of $710,000 if year ended then.
- Councilmember Berg asked about city-owned properties not generating property tax; Warner confirmed and noted exemptions reduce the tax base.
- Warner announced upcoming creation of a separate fund for affordable housing sales tax (collected since 2021, about $870,000) to improve tracking.
2025 Community Development Update
- Community Development Director Bill Preston presented an overview of accomplishments. Highlights:
- Capital projects: 32 active transportation grants totaling $46.1 million, leveraging $1.3 million in city funds (36:1 ratio); total capital improvements through 2027 estimated at $80 million, mostly funded outside the general fund.
- Single-family emergency repair program: 43 projects completed in 2025, 21 in progress; fully federally funded.
- Building permits: 5,100 inspections year-to-date (on track with 2024’s 6,600 total).
- Business licenses: 9,000 active licenses; new business licenses rose from ~1,400 in 2024 to 1,900 in 2025. Average processing time dropped from 34 days in 2024 to 4.5 days in 2025 due to dedicated staffing.
- Code compliance: 766 new cases this year, 574 closed; 732 total closures (including carryovers). Estimated $625,000 in fines collected in 2024, on track for similar in 2025.
- Planning: 116 completed reviews, 153 in queue; highlighted new developments (Kick’s Corner daycare, Pape relocation, Les Schwab in West Valley, pharmacy at Knob Hill and 72nd, Yakima Housing Authority property on Fruitvale, Powerhouse Flats apartments).
- Councilmember Roy praised the 36:1 grant leverage ratio; Preston cited council allowing staff to work effectively.
City of Yakima's Year in Review
- City Manager Vicki Baker presented department accomplishments over the past year, supported by IT Analyst Randy Bonds demonstrating a new transparency portal.
- Adopt-A-Block: Launched in partnership with Yakima Valley Habitat for Humanity; residents can request or adopt blocks for cleanup. Test block completed with positive community response.
- Public Works: Implemented CityWorks asset management software.
- Parks and Recreation: MLK Jr. Aquatic Center opened with 25,620 total attendance; 2,500 lap swimmers, 22,000 recreational swimmers, 52 swimming lessons; $77,000 in revenue in shortened first season.
- Street Maintenance: 12 miles of chip seal/fog seal completed; grind and overlay on 72nd & Tieton.
- City Hall Facilities: Sidewalk improvements on Bank of America building completed.
- Traffic: Upgraded 7 intersections with 12-inch LED signals; used CDBG funds for 100 streetlights near four elementary schools.
- Transit: Transit Center remodeled (new interior/exterior paint, flooring, ADA compliance, LED lighting) using state funds.
- Solid Waste & Recycling: New roll-off bin and bulky waste pickup services; 6,000 graffiti incidents abated by Clean City.
- Yakima Fire Department: 8 new recruits in fall 2024 academy, 6 more in May–June 2025; hosted regional aerial apparatus training; community risk reduction programs (car seat safety, senior fall prevention, juvenile intervention). Fire Master Plan under review.
- Yakima Police Department: New electronic detection canine “Router” deployed; 11,000 traffic stops; 2600 homeless calls for service; 337 DUIs; 1,050 firearms removed; 11 recruits graduated; 3 pounds of fentanyl and 11 firearms seized at Yakima Inn (deemed nuisance property). Major crimes: 11 homicides in 2024 (8 cleared), 8 in 2025 (5 cleared). Property crimes: uncovered organized theft operation, three embezzlement cases totaling $1.65 million. Community engagement: coffee with a cop, e-bike patrols, youth education.
- Legal Department Prosecution: 2,880 cases referred; 2,106 filed; 1,416 traffic/property cases (531 positive outcomes), 690 family/community violence cases (243 positive outcomes). Municipal judges praised for accountability.
- Yakima Air Terminal: Roof and HVAC project nearing completion; future projects include baggage claim, restroom upgrades, overflow parking, crosswind runway.
- Finance: Received three awards (GFOA budget award, debt/investment policy certificates); implemented Questica budget software, Paymentus online billing, 24/7 payment kiosk, 22,500 water meter exchanges.
- City Clerk: 3,082 public records requests in 2024, on pace to exceed in 2025.
- IT: Transitioned to Microsoft 365; developed custom apps saving $670,000 annually (COBAN video review, lease management, push-to-talk system); finalized AI policy.
- Economic Development: Focus on streamlining processes (4.5-day business license), using existing tools (comp plan, transportation planning), incentivizing investment without general fund dollars.
- Transparency Portal: Randy Bonds demonstrated a consolidated online portal with budget dashboards, employee salary data, contracts, GIS data, YAKback request tracker, fire response data, police data (crime trends, vehicle collisions, unsolved murder map, use of force, Flock camera statistics). Portal went live on council page that day.
Key Outcomes
- The study session was informational; no formal votes were taken on the items presented.
- Motion to adjourn: Deputy Mayor Brown moved, Councilmember Deccio seconded, to adjourn to the next regular City Council meeting on September 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The motion carried unanimously (Herrera absent). Meeting adjourned at 6:51 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome. I will call to order the Yakima City Council study session on September 9th, 2025. We'll start with the roll call, please. Bird? Here. Brown. Here. Byers. Present. DCL? Here. Glenn. Here. Roy? Here. Herrera is absent and excused. Thank you. Next is public comment, and we will have 15 minutes for public comment this evening. If you make a public comment, please make sure that you fill out a sheet in the lobby and turn into a city clerk. You'll have two and a half minutes, and when you come to the podium, give us your name in the city in which you live. Also a reminder that I don't have it in here. Well, anyway, there's no election airing allowed from the podium, which means you can't talk about any candidates about that's coming up in November. Thank you. All right. I have two things I want to talk with you about tonight. They're both in the uh envelope that I put on your desks. Uh the first one is a report from Mr. Gorchester of Performance Plain LLC. Mr. Gorchester is known in Olympia as the money man because he puts together huge financing projects for the state and for their uh contractors. We asked him to come to Yakima and look at our Sixth Avenue project to see whether it could be built. Excuse me, whether it could be built uh in the full meal deal with the track, the trail, the road and everything without having to raise new taxes, because I know that's a big concern of yours. He said absolutely yes. He said it would be easy because you have the TBD money that you can use as match for some excellent state grants that are available for this type of project. So I'm just asked that you read through what he has written, study it, uh, get to know it, understand it, because I think it'll give you the roadmap of how to get funding done without having to raise taxes. That should be a big relief for you. The other thing I want to talk to you about is the SEALA line from uh from the ridge to the uh end of the line in SELA through CELA Gap. We recently had that inspected by a professional rail inspection service, and uh they found that the track was, quote, in uh very good condition. Um they found two defects. One was a broken rail, one was uh uh vegetation and tumbleweeds that block the track. Those are the only things stopping it from being used again for the trolleys. Uh our volunteers can replace that broken rail. We can remove the vegetation, and the track will be ready to go again. We can do that at no cost to the city. And I know you have heard from other people that are saying, oh, it's gonna cost 20 million dollars to reopen the SEAL line. Absolutely untrue. Please come to us for information about the track, about what can be done, what needs to be done, what's already been done, and we'll always give you the straight truth on it, and we'll always be happy to meet with you any time as long as we need to. So call on me if you need to. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
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