City Council Study Session — Yakima, WA
Date: 2025-09-09

YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
 September 9, 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
 Present: Mayor Patricia Byers, presiding; Assistant Mayor Matt Brown and
 Councilmembers Reedy Berg, Janice Deccio, Rick Glenn, and Leo Roy
 Staff: City Manager Vicki Baker, City Attorney Sara Watkins and City Clerk Rosalinda
 Ibarra
 Absent and Excused: Councilmember Danny Herrera

2) Public Comment (allow 15 minutes)
 Ken Johnsen, Yakima resident and President of Yakima Valley Trolleys, spoke about
 and distributed information related to the trolley tracks and the Selah line.

3) Study Session Items
 3.A 2025 2nd Quarter Financial Report
 Director of Finance and Budget Craig Warner presented a preliminary, unaudited
 financial update of the 2nd Quarter 2025 Budget. In general, revenue and
 expenditure projections are tracking slightly below with City revenues at 48.3% and
 expenditures at 46.5% of the budget.
 General fund revenue is primarily generated from sales tax, property taxes, and
 utility taxes. He noted that sales tax revenue continues to show declining revenue
 affected by trends in construction, wholesale trade, and leasing sectors; property
 taxes show above average collection for this time of year due to the 1% annual
 increase and new construction activity; investment interest is currently below due
 to negative amortization; licenses and permits exceed expectations due to an
 increase in building activity; franchise fees and other taxes are below 50% due to
 gambling taxes not yet posted.
 Expenditure categories consist of public safety, law & justice, streets, parks &
 recreation, and general administration. Mr. Warner indicated that most
 departments are within mid-year expenditure expectations with no significant
 overages to report at this time. He did, however, note that overtime for Police and
 Fire is not fully budgeted.

 3.B 2025 Community Development Update
 Community Development Director Bill Preston presented an in-depth overview of
 the 2024-2025 accomplishments from the Community Development Department,


September 9, 2025 – Yakima City Council Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 3
 including capital projects, single-family emergency repair program, building and
 engineering inspections, building-related permits, business, regulatory, and dog
 licenses, code compliance cases, and land use reviews. A notable improvement
 was reflected in the average number of days to process a business license which
 decreased from 34 days in 2024 to 4.5 days in 2025.

 3.C City of Yakima's Year in Review
 City Manager Vicki Baker detailed the City's accomplishments over the past year.
 Some of the highlighted achievements mentioned include:
 In partnership with Yakima Valley Habitat for Humanity, the Adopt-A-Block portal
 recently launched allowing volunteers to select neighborhoods who wish to
 receive clean up assistance.
 Public Works Administration - implementation of "CityWorks", an asset
 management software.
 Parks and Recreation Division - successful completion of the MLK Jr. Aquatic
 Center construction.
 Street Maintenance Division - grind and overlay and chip sealing programs.
 City Hall Facilities - sidewalk improvement project adjacent to the bank building.
 Transit Operations - upgraded intersections and streetlight fixture improvements
 near elementary schools.
 Transit Division - completed remodel of the Transit Center.
 Solid Waste & Recycling Division - implementation of new services for roll-off
 bins and bulk pick up and graffiti abatement.
 Yakima Fire Department - completion of training academies; increased fire safety
 education through Community Risk Reduction efforts; new equipment and
 building maintenance upgrades.
 Yakima Police Department – welcomed Router, an electronics detection canine;
 participated in several community organization events; provided data statistics for
 traffic stops, calls for service, firearms removed from streets, arrests, crime
 trends; successful academy and field training completed for new recruits; major
 crimes unit and property crimes unit investigations.
 Legal Department Prosecution Division - caseload limit includes traffic & property
 crimes unit and family & community violence cases; achieved compliance assisting
 in code enforcement cases.
 Yakima Air Terminal - finalizing the roof and HVAC project construction; future
 projects include baggage claim and restroom upgrades, overflow parking project,
 and crosswind runway improvements.
 Finance Department - received budget recognition awards from the Washington
 Public Treasurer’s Association and the Government Finance Officers Association;
 launched and implemented Questica and Paymentus software; introduced priority-
 based budgeting; meter head exchange project for water accounts.
 City Clerk/Records – provided data statistics for council meetings and legislative
 actions and public records requests.



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 IT Department - transitioned to Microsoft 365; updated City's website, assisted
 with implementation of software and custom applications; finalized AI policy.
 Ms. Baker reported on the various community engagement efforts which have
 included town halls, speaking engagements, surveys, community outreach, and
 the launch of the City's podcast. She also noted the focus on economic
 development efforts to encourage economic growth opportunities and incentivize
 development investments.
 IT Services Supervising Senior Analyst Randy Bonds demonstrated the City’s
 transparency portal which would consolidate existing data information to one
 location and increase accessibility.

4) Adjournment
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to adjourn to the next City Council
 regular meeting on September 16, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
 The motion carried by unanimous vote; Herrera absent. The meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m.




CERTIFICATION
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ATTEST:

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