Councilman Ensey Looking to Reduce Utility Tax

Yakima City Council member Rick Ensey wants to roll back the six percent percent utility tax in Yakima to give taxpayers a break.

Ensey says he will propose the idea at the next council meeting on July 15.

Several years ago the council raised the tax from three percent to six percent to pay for law enforcement needs.

Now that the economy has turned around. Sales tax revenue and tax revenue as a whole is increasing and I think it’s time to give some of that money back to taxpayers.

Ensey says he will propose lowering the tax from the current six percent to four percent and take the more than $800,000 needed for law enforcement from the general fund. He says if there is a cut in the general fund then he says the city can look at other area to gain the money.

Ensey says government always increases taxes but never decreases taxes. He wants the city council to be an exception to that rule.