Declining Revenues & Higher Expenses = Yakima's 'Perfect Storm'

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Story Published: Jul 3, 2009 at 4:08 PM PST

By Sade Malloy

Yakima -- The numbers aren't adding up and the tighter budget has the city of Yakima trying to cut costs and quick. Yakima hasn't seen a layoff in 25 years. Action News found out that run may be over.

It's crunch time for the city of Yakima. The budget isn't adding up and it's got just about every city worker looking over his or her shoulder.
City administrators just released this six page memo trying to figure out a quick fix to what could be a big problem.

"We're a service industry, it takes people to produce the service so our largest costs are in the folks," says Dave Zabell, city of Yakima.

Action News asks,"Which positions would be the most vulnerable for layoffs?"
"I think it would begin most likely with clerical," says Mayor Dave Edler, city of Yakima.

Compared to June of last year sales tax revenue is down 20 percent.

"Even as they were anticipated they were very very conservative numbers and we got a little bit of a surprise," says Zabell.

It's a surprise because as sales tax revenues go down jail costs are going up. Crime has been reduced by nearly 9 percent in Yakima and more people locked up have city officials expecting the jail budget to be $1 million over.

The city's focused on the budget and savings, so what does that mean for our city pools that are constantly on the chopping block?

"The council weighed in we're not going to close pools we're not going to close parks, so I would say from my perspective those are secure," says Edler.

The pools might be safe but the outlook isn't too bright for the rest of the city. If the economic conditions worsen, revenue drops more and jail costs continue to climb, city leaders admit nothing is off the table.

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