(The Center Square) – Facing a $9 million budget deficit, the Yakima City Council voted 4-3 on Thursday to place a $6 million property tax hike on the November ballot.
The officials have tackled budget shortfalls over the last few years, but the measures taken only kept services afloat without addressing rising costs. Temporary fixes only carried the deficit into the next year, but city staff argue that relying on cuts may hit police and firefighters the hardest.
If approved by voters this fall, homeowners will see their property taxes rise by 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For the median property value of around $365,000, the levy amounts to roughly $200 annually in additional taxes – a cost that most renters will also bear.
According to U.S. Census data, almost half of city residents don’t own their homes. Many rent as the city’s poverty rate sits at about 17%, outpacing the state and national rates. The median household income is approximately $60,000, which is $30,000 less than that of the state.
“We have 92 positions with total compensation exceeding $200,000 and a few that are well over $300,000,” Dana Johnson, state committeewoman for the Yakima County Republican Party, told the council while also noting the city’s median household income. “I understand the challenges of unions and binding arbitration, but this is why our city is essentially going bankrupt.
A cut package amounting to roughly $3 million will accompany the levy if successful this fall.
That would eliminate council travel and lobbying, the fireworks budget, sidewalk maintenance, graffiti removal and adult and youth sports programs. A pool will close, and the Yakima Police Department’s traffic unit will see reductions, as will Code Enforcement, Animal Control, legal staff and more.
Relying solely on cuts would have dramatically impacted public safety under the options identified by city staff. Rather than reducing pay, closing a fire station, reducing training budgets, cutting crime analysis funding, and YPD’s property crimes, gang and narcotics units were all options.
Councilmembers Leo Roy, Reedy Berg and Assistant Mayor Matt Brown all voted against the tax hike. During another meeting on Tuesday, Roy cited the council’s campaign promises not to raise taxes, but critics have framed their votes on Thursday as putting public safety at risk.
Brown asked his peers on July 1 who could afford the tax increase; only two raised their hands.
“It’s a principled decision based on a promise I made to the people who elected me. I take this commitment seriously,” Brown wrote in a news release. “Unlike many politicians in Olympia or Washington, D.C., or Yakima, for that matter, I believe that keeping your word still means something.”
Voters will decide whether to pass the levy in November. If unsuccessful, Yakima must rely on reductions, which could severely impact public safety, unless staff can identify alternative cuts.
