Yakima City Council Regular Meeting – October 13, 2026

The Yakima City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 129 N 2nd Street, Yakima, WA. The meeting included a public comment period allotted up to 35 minutes, unanimous approval of the consent agenda, a detailed presentation of the proposed 2027-2028 biennial budget, and a council motion to schedule a future discussion of a possible Kratom sales ban. No public hearings were held. The next regular meeting was set for October 20, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Resolution 7A authorized a supplemental agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc., not to exceed $549,820, for construction engineering and permitting services for the Nelson Dam Removal Project / Nelson Phase 2 Conveyance Improvements Project IC2010. The agenda described the item as Nelson Phase 2 Conveyance Improvements Project IC2010 (Grant Funding).
• Resolution 7B authorized the City Manager to accept Change Order 004 with Interwest Construction Inc. in the amount of $1,333,123.03 including sales tax, and approved modifications to contract price and contract time. The agenda listed the project as Nelson Pipeline Phase 2; the clerk referred to it as the Nelson Dam Removal Phase 2 project.
• The consent agenda was approved by roll call vote, with all present council members voting yes: Brown, Glenn, Gonzalez, Patrickis, and Roy.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The chair reminded speakers that public comment was limited to 2.5 minutes per speaker, that council members would listen only, and that state law prohibits electioneering at city facilities.
• Kenton Gartrell, a Yakima city and county resident and property owner, opposed Flock/automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. He argued they are not the same as Amber Alert systems, do not create safety, and are unaffordable. He asked council to bring a motion to remove Flock cameras, return them to the county, and instead expand Amber Alert/license reader systems. He cited his own experience in Wapato, repair costs of $2,500 to $3,000 per camera, and the use of one-time ARPA money.
• Natalie Montoya, a city resident speaking via Zoom, expressed disappointment in council members who voted against the mayor's motion to ban Flock cameras and who tabled the ordinance discussion until May 2027. She said the cameras violate rights, cross party lines, and that constituents' concerns must be taken seriously.
• Sue Finich criticized the council and city manager, saying council members were not honest or courageous and that unelected bureaucrats were usurping responsibilities. Her father, Ralph Holbrook, served on the Yakima City Council in the 1970s. She said she placed an ad in the Yakima Valley Sentinel, with about 20,000 copies going to likely Republican voters, costing roughly $500, and warned that time was running out to fix the situation.
• Alicia Tobin, executive director of Safe Yakima Valley and a member of the Washington State Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention Board, urged council to pass a local policy prohibiting Kratom sales. She cited Kratom's unregulated status in Washington, the opioid-like compound 70H, national Kratom exposure reports more than doubling from 2024 to 2025, more than one-third of Washington poison-control calls in 2025 being suspected Kratom cases, youth overdoses in Cle Elum and Ellensburg in 2026, local environmental scans showing 1 in 5 mini marts and 82% of vape shops sold Kratom, 88% of vape shops selling Kratom carrying youth-appealing character products, and 14 Washington cities and 3 counties adopting local bans this year.
• Mark Peterson said he had become the number one TikToker in Yakima with over 100,000 views in three weeks, referenced the Lincoln Day dinner, and asked council members to investigate his case involving City Manager Vicky Baker. He said a council member told him staff warned them not to talk to him, and he compared council members unfavorably to the Good Samaritan, stating City Legal lost the lawsuit but council did nothing.
• Amanda, a Yakima County resident, criticized Councilwoman Patrickis's prior statement that ALPR opponents were reflexively concerned about rights or using agenda-based claims. She listed reasons for opposition including rights, police misuse, employee misuse, lax data security, and data centers for AI, and called for removing the technology, placing a moratorium, and holding a public hearing or town hall before January.
• Craig Rust, who lives in the urban growth boundary, raised the proliferation of campaign signs in the city right-of-way. He said they are legal but require permission from abutting property owners, and asked code enforcement to address signs on Yakima Avenue and elsewhere.
• Tony Corsey described past grievances with the city, including being prevented from speaking and having paperwork hidden. He referenced the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 9/11, Pacific Power and water rights, Steve Hahn, and a $23 million Walmart discrimination verdict, and asked for a response or meeting; he offered to meet after the meeting.

Discussion Items: 2027-2028 Biennial Budget Presentation

• City Manager Vicky Baker and finance/budget staff member Craig presented a proposed 2027-2028 budget described as balanced, fiscally responsible, and not balanced on reserves. They credited the council and staff for preventing earlier projected deficits and noted other cities, including the Tri-Cities, are facing $11 million to $13 million budget gaps.
• Historical projections: the city had expected a $6.2 million reserve at the end of 2024, a $2.1 million deficit by the end of 2025, and an $11.4 million deficit by the end of 2026. The 2025 budget gap was projected at $6.8 million, and the 2026 gap at $8.6 million. These outcomes were avoided through cuts and budget work.
• Voters rejected a $6 million property tax levy in 2025 by 51.32% no to 48.68% yes. The council then made $3 million in reductions plus approximately $6 million in additional cuts, including $3.2 million from police, which eliminated 12 police officer positions, community service officer positions, animal control and parking enforcement support, analyst positions, and humane society funding; $2 million from parks, affecting Harmon Center, Washington Fruit Center, Lions Pool, park bathrooms, and park maintenance; and $1.8 million from fire, including the planned closure of Station 92.
• For 2026, council used more than $4 million in one-time reserves and donations to restore or extend services, including $225,000 for Harmon Center, $300,000 for Washington Fruit Center, $230,000 for Lions Pool, $50,000 for Franklin Pool repairs plus $120,000 for operations, $141,920 for park bathrooms, $250,000 for indigent defense, $295,000 for technology firewall and server replacements, $250,000 for a snow and ice reserve, and $100,000 for a human resources reserve.
• Finance staff explained the city's structural revenue limits: property tax growth is capped at 1%, yielding about $230,000 per year. The property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value fell from $3.50 in 2005 to $1.79 in 2026 as assessed values rose while collections grew by only 1%. For every dollar of property tax paid by city residents, the city keeps about 20 cents, with 62 cents going to schools. On a $100 taxable purchase at the 8.6% sales tax rate, the city general fund receives 85 cents, the state receives $6.50, and Yakima County receives 45 cents. Utility tax revenue increased significantly after electric utility tax collections jumped from $6.3 million to almost $8 million in 2025; the city's electric utility tax rate is 6%.
• Proposed 2027-2028 includes $100,000 for Washington Fruit Center, with grants and donations needed to fully fund it, $350,000 for Lions Pool, and continued funding for Station 92 through the utility tax. A council member asked staff to communicate to school districts that Lions Pool is proposed to be available for swim teams. Franklin Pool is not included in the proposed budget. Staff cited Franklin Pool's net cost of $92,000 for 90 days of operation, with $109,000 spent, about $16,000 in revenue, 3,273 swimmers, and a net cost per swimmer of $28.21. Washington Fruit Center was open 253 days, with $227,000 in expenses, $32,000 in revenue, a net cost of about $194,000, almost 19,000 attendees, and a net cost per attendee of about $10.25.
• Structural budget changes include folding the three-tenths of 1% criminal justice sales tax fund into the general fund, moving the community relations fund into the general fund, creating a technology services fund with a five-year replacement cycle for computers and equipment, and eliminating two inactive capital improvement funds. Revenue changes already approved include replacing the $20 car tab with a one-tenth of 1% sales tax for transportation, adding a 3% utility tax for fire, and adding a 1% utility tax for police community services officers and analysts.
• A $13 million increase in 2026 general fund revenue compared with 2025 is due to an accounting consolidation of property taxes into the general fund, not new revenue. The property tax line rises from $8.4 million in 2025 to $22.3 million in 2026.
• General fund spending: public safety, consisting of police, fire, and codes, is about 73% of the general fund, nearly $70 million. Adding law and justice brings public safety and law and justice to more than 81% of the general fund. Streets are about 5.9%, or $5.6 million, and parks are about the same. The 2028 budget is similar, with 81.7% for public safety and law and justice.
• Reserve projections are 16.3% at the end of 2026, 16.1% at the end of 2027, 14.8% at the end of 2028, and 11.31% by 2031 if forecasts hold. Staff recommended raising the reserve policy from 12% to 15%, comparing it to a credit score and citing bond-rating implications. No action was taken on the reserve policy at this meeting.
• Total city-wide revenues are projected at $321 million for 2027 and $303 million for 2028. Total expenditures are projected at $343,109,585 for 2027 and $317,271,152 for 2028. Grant-funded intergovernmental revenue is the hardest to project.
• Staff listed unmet needs including police equipment funding of $250,000 versus an estimated need of about $1.4 million, police vehicles at nearly $100,000 each, fire apparatus over $1.3 million for a truck and $2 million or more for a ladder truck, fire station building upgrades, street and sidewalk maintenance cuts over $500,000, and $1.8 million in parks capital needs. Council members discussed economic development, vacant mill site and freeway-frontage property, airport growth, the need for a dedicated economic development position, and the need to press the state legislature on unfunded mandates.
• Budget schedule: public hearings are set for November 10 and November 17, 2026, with possible adoption on December 8, 2026.

Council Open Discussion and City Manager Update

• Council discussion included a council member's anecdote about a tenant asking why other residents receive paid assistants; another council member said he would bring economic development items to council soon. City Manager Vicky Baker gave no formal update, saying the budget was the main topic and that a meeting is scheduled the following week.

Other Business

• Councilwoman Byers made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Patrickis, for the council to have information and discussion at a near-term council meeting and consider banning the sale of Kratom in city limits. Council discussion noted enforcement concerns and a preference for focusing on meth and illegal drugs, but the motion passed by voice vote. It does not itself ban Kratom; it schedules further consideration.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda adopted unanimously by roll call vote, 5 yes.
• No formal action was taken on the 2027-2028 budget; the presentation was informational. Budget hearings are set for November 10 and November 17, 2026, with adoption targeted for December 8, 2026.
• Council passed the motion to schedule a future discussion and consideration of a Kratom sales ban.
• Meeting adjourned to the next regular council meeting on October 20, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers.