How Yakima Avoided a Disastrous $40M Deficit

The City of Yakima has presented a balanced budget for the 2027-2028 years due to efforts by the city council led by Mayor Matt Brown, City Manager Vicki Baker and staff, and Finance and Budget Director Craig Werner. This comes as a welcome surprise to Yakima due to long-term models predicting budget reserves being drained by 2027 and a disastrous $40 million deficit by 2029.

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How We Got Here

In 2025, the city was staring at a potential $9 million deficit for 2026 if action wasn’t taken fast. The City Council proposed $3 million in spending cuts along with a $6 million increase in property taxes. The change would have raised the baseline property tax from $1.84 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.46. The plan failed after Yakima voters rejected it in November 2025, 51.3% to 48.7%.

Solving The Problem

The city was forced to do things the old-fashioned way with spending cuts. $4.75 million in public safety was cut, $2 million in parks and recreation, and $1.75 million in general government services were cut. The resulting crisis in public opinion led the city to do what really needed to be done and froze hiring and personnel costs, and lowered its reserve threshold from 16.7% to 12% of the budget.

The spending cuts allowed more money to sit in the city's accounts, and interest rates hikes in 2026 led to high revenue flows! Slight utility tax increases also helped bring in much needed earnings. The city ended fiscal year 2025 with $18 million, $7 million above what was originally forecasted!

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This sunny financial position will allow the city to continue to fund previously facilities such as Lion's Pool, Fire Station 92, and Washington Fruit Place.