HELP YAKIMA!
COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9th, and **DONATE!**
With a $9 Million deficit, Yakima has had to make serious cuts to the existing services offered to the citizens of Yakima. After losing the recent levy to try to keep essential services such as a Fire Station and many of the Police programs, including personnel, Yakima will return to staffing levels of many years ago, and not reflecting the city as it is today.
While fundraising isn't realistic for big ticket items, there are some Quality-of-Life issues that could be restored with financial assistance from residents who may be able to contribute to our community.
We have gathered **$115,000** to save the **Youth Parks Program** ($61,000), and fund a new **calisthenics park at Chesterly Park** ($54,000). While many other items are worthy of funding from Fireworks, Watering the Cemetery, restoring the flowers downtown, and the big-ticket items such as Harmon Center and the Humane Society contribution.
What the city has cut from its general fund budget
The Yakima City Council approved roughly $3 million in budget cuts at a special meeting on July 24. We did not include the $6 Million cuts which are far deeper, and all big ticket items.
Here is a list of all the cutbacks, listed by category. Some of them involve leaving vacant job positions unfilled, while others involve eliminating items from the 2026 budget.
City Hall $576,473
- Eliminate lobbying and city council members? travel $120,000
- Reduce financial services department $150,000
- Streamline civil service $60,000
- Eliminate legal department front staff $80,000
- Association of Washington Cities membership $77,417
- Eliminate facilities specialist $74,056
- Eliminate funding for July 4 fireworks $15,000
Economic development $291,404
- Reduce Windows Alive funding $10,000
- Eliminate flowers downtown $44,300
- Reduce funding to Yakima County Development Association $25,000
- Reduce economic development staff $100,000
- Reduce economic development assistant $62,104
- Remove Main Street match $50,000
Parks and Recreation $649,917
- Close Franklin Park Pool in 2026 $167,000
- Reduce Lions Pool budget $50,000
- Reduce Harman Center budget $50,000
- Reduce Washington Fruit Community Center budget $50,000
- Reduce Community Recreation funding $50,000
- Eliminate adults sports program funding $36,917
- Eliminate day camps $170,000
- Reduce Tahoma Cemetery watering $15,000
- Eliminate youth sports programs $61,000
Public safety (police and fire) $605,217
- Eliminate one YPD crime analyst position $150,000
- Eliminate crime-free rental housing program $82,000
- Reduce code enforcement officers $171,000
- Eliminate corrections admission specialist $111,948
- Eliminate fire electronics technician $90,269
Public works $877,500
- Reduce street maintenance funding $410,000
- Eliminate sidewalk improvements funding $105,000
- Create reserve for snow and ice control funding $250,000
- Eliminate graffiti removal program $72,500
- Eliminate alley maintenance $30,000
- Eliminate trolley maintenance $10,000
TOTAL $3,000,511
**DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTABLE, ALL WILL CONTINUE THE QUALITY OF LIFE WE EXPECT**