City Council Study Session — Yakima, WA
Date: 2025-11-12

YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
 November 12, 2025
 City Hall - Council Chambers - 129 N 2nd Street, Yakima WA
 5:00 PM City Council Study Session - Conducted in person and virtually via Zoom

1) Roll Call
 The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m.
 Present: Mayor Patricia Byers, presiding; Assistant Mayor Matt Brown and
 Councilmembers Reedy Berg, Janice Deccio, Rick Glenn, Danny Herrera and Leo Roy
 Staff: City Manager Vicki Baker, City Attorney Sara Watkins and City Clerk Rosalinda
 Ibarra

2) Public Comment (allow 15 minutes)
 Anne Knapp, City resident, spoke against providing financial support for the Yakima
 Valley Trolleys considering current budget challenges.
 Charlene Freeman, City resident; Gary Bailey, City resident; Betty Jaeger, County
 resident; Lois Cruikshank, Selah resident; spoke in opposition to the potential closure of
 the Harman Senior Center.
 Tony Sandoval, City resident, addressed Councilmember Glenn’s use of “illegal aliens”
 made at a prior Council meeting to refer to undocumented immigrants.
 Jonathan Hood, City resident, spoke in opposition to the potential closure of Yakima Fire
 Department Station 92.

3) Study Session Items
 None.

4) Public Hearings
 4.A Public hearing and Ordinances pertaining to Ad Valorem Taxes (property tax) to
 be levied for collection in fiscal year 2026
 Director of Finance and Budget Craig Warner reviewed the proposed ordinances
 pertaining to ad valorem taxes which authorizes the County Assessor to levy real
 and personal property taxes necessary to fund the City of Yakima's 2026 Mid-
 Biennial Budget.
 Deanna Gregory, with Pacifica Law Group, reiterated the importance of property
 taxes for paying debt service on bonds.




November 12, 2025 – Yakima City Council Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 3
 Mayor Byers opened the public hearing.
 Kenton Gartrell, County resident and City property owner, spoke in opposition to
 the annual property tax levy.
 Curt Wilson, City resident and Executive Director of the Downtown Association;
 Jeanna Hernandez, City resident; Amanda Nelson, TJ Mullinax, and Mary
 Guernsey, County residents; spoke in support of the property tax levy for public
 safety and in opposition to closures of the Harman Center and Lions Pool
 With no one else coming forward to speak, Mayor Byers closed the public
 hearing.
 The City Clerk read Ordinance A by title only.
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to pass Ordinance A. The
 motion carried by a 5-2 roll call vote; with Berg and Roy voting no.
 ORDINANCE NO. 2025-031, AN ORDINANCE relating to the annual property
 tax levy; declaring the City Council's intent to increase the City's 2026 regular
 levy up to 101% along with new construction, annexation, refunds and growth in
 state-assessed property values from the amount levied the previous year.
 The City Clerk read Ordinance B by title only.
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to pass Ordinance B. The
 motion carried by a 7-0 roll call vote.
 ORDINANCE NO. 2025-032, AN ORDINANCE fixing and levying the amount of
 ad valorem taxes necessary to discharge the expected expenses and obligations
 for the 2026 Budget for the City of Yakima.

 4.B First public hearing on the 2026 Preliminary Mid-Biennial Budget for the City of
 Yakima
 City Manager Vicki Baker provided a brief overview of budget efforts conducted
 over the last year. Director of Finance and Budget Craig Warner briefed Council
 on the 2026 Preliminary Mid-Biennial Budget and reported on the forecast for
 General Fund and Citywide revenues and expenditures. He highlighted several
 changes impacting the budget and noted an anticipated deficit between revenue
 and expenditure in 2026. The proposed expense reductions include $3 million in
 Police, $1.75 million in Fire, and $1.4 million in Parks and Recreation.
 Yakima Fire Chief Aaron Markham, Yakima Police Chief Shawn Boyle, Public
 Works Director Scott Schafer and Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkinson
 provided Council additional detail regarding potential budget reduction impacts to
 their departments and the effect on the community.
 After Council discussion,
 MOTION: Brown moved and Berg seconded to direct staff to develop a
 budget for the Harman Center that is revenue neutral to General Fund. The
 motion carried with a 7-0 vote.
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to direct the City Manager to
 speak to the school districts that use Lions Pool to see if we can do a joint
 agreement to recoup costs on Lions Pool. The motion carried with a 7-0 vote.



November 12, 2025 – Yakima City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 3
 AMENDED MOTION: Byers moved and Herrera seconded to direct staff to
 develop a budget for Washington Fruit Center that is revenue neutral to
 General Fund. The motion carried with a 7-0 vote.
 Mayor Byers opened the public hearing.

 Mike Mullen, City resident; Pamela Mullen, City resident; and Linda Lockwood,
 City resident; spoke in opposition to the potential closure of the Harman Center.

 With no one else coming forward or calling in to speak, Mayor Byers closed the
 public hearing.

 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to add Franklin Pool to our
 legislative priorities of design and repair for 2026. The motion carried with a
 6-1 vote; Byers voting no.

 MOTION: Brown moved and Berg seconded that the City of Yakima
 formally request a Lean performance study from the Washington State
 Auditor's Center for Government Innovation, consistent with RCW
 43.09.470, to evaluate all departments and operations supported by the
 General Fund, and any related enterprise fund processes that impact
 overall city efficiency, with the goal of lowering operational costs and
 improving service delivery. The motion carried with a 7-0 vote.

5) Adjournment
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to adjourn to the next City Council
 regular meeting on November 18, 2025, beginning with Executive Session at 5:00
 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

 The meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m.


CERTIFICATION
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ATTEST:

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 CITY CLERK MAYOR




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