(The Center Square) – Despite just closing a $9 million deficit after voters narrowly rejected a property tax hike, the Yakima City Council is considering another levy to save a fire station from closing this summer.
The officials balanced the shortfall last month with significant public safety cuts after a $6 million tax hike failed by only 364 votes. The Yakima Fire Department took a $1.75 million cut, but nearby city Union Gap also just terminated its fire contract with Yakima at the end of 2025, taking even more from YFD’s budget.
Fire officials said the only way to cut $1.75 million is to reduce overtime by closing Station 92 or operating it at reduced capacity. Community members testified in opposition, and again on Monday, leading the council to allocate an additional $150,000 in limited reserves to fund overtime until August.
“The fire department’s been taking it on the chin for a while,” Councilmember Reedy Berg said during Monday’s meeting. “So I would move that staff present to council at [the] Feb. 3 meeting, how a 25-cent per $1,000 [of assessed value] EMS levy would plan to improve services for the community.”
Berg believes the property tax hike could raise about $3 million annually if the council puts it on the August or November ballot and voters approve it. A 25-cent levy per $1,000 of assessed value would amount to roughly $91 in additional property taxes for a home touting a median value of $365,000.
YFD will need more than $3 million, though. Union Gap just ended its contract with Yakima for fire services on Dec. 31. That took another $2 million from the city’s fire budget. The council wants to identify about $3.8 million in cuts or new revenue sources to prevent the closure of Station 92.
While some members are split over the idea of raising taxes, they’re willing to hear it out again.
Many residents testified in the weeks leading up to budget adoption last month, in opposition to public safety cuts and to others affecting parks and recreation. Councilmember Patricia Byers repeated on Monday that if the community had realized what was at stake, the $6 million levy could have passed.
“It’s interesting to me that we talked about doing a levy on 50 cents per $1,000 to get $6 million,” she said. “Had it gone through … it would not have left us in any of these positions, and I know that a lot of the voters came in and expressed ‘gosh’ … even though we tried to spend a year educating people.”
According to a presentation, a citywide team spent two weeks reviewing options to cut $1.75 million to save the fire station while staying within the adopted budget, but they couldn’t find an alternative.
If voters don’t approve an EMS levy or another tax proposal later this year, YFD will close Station 92, which has the lowest call volume, later this summer and redeploy staff to other facilities; YFD requires 84 staff members across three shifts, but only has 81 people currently available. The closure would reduce the number of personnel required to 75, meeting the current availability, which is expected to decline.
Taking a fire engine from Station 91, an alternative option, would leave that facility operating with one apparatus as it tackles 39% of YFD’s call volume. The city wants to avoid a public safety crisis, so the council is leaning on other cuts and new revenues to meet their needs, but they have until August.
“At the end of the day,” Councilmember Rick Glenn said, “it’s not wise to shut down Station 92.”
City staff will present details on a 25-cent EMS levy proposal to the council next month.
