City of Yakima to lay off five workers

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Five layoffs are planned to help close a projected $4.1 million deficit in the city of Yakima's 2010 general fund budget, City Manager Dick Zais announced Monday.

The layoffs are the city's first in 27 years, Zais said during a media briefing at City Hall. Combined with 18 positions lost through attrition, the city will have trimmed 23 employees next year.

"We're not in a crisis," he said, referring to the national recession's effect on the public sector throughout the country, "but we are severely stressed economically."

The five layoffs are projected as follows: a clerk in the fire department; a clerk and a records supervisor in the police department; a cashier in Municipal Court; and an animal control officer.

Public safety bore the brunt of the cuts because public safety eats up two-thirds of the city's budget. No layoffs of uniformed police officers or firefighters are anticipated, however.

The layoffs and attrition are a major part of the city's plan to close the projected $4.1 million deficit next year. The City Council this summer gave Zais permission to use $1.5 million in reserves to offset the deficit, leaving another $2.6 million in cuts that must be identified.

Despite the national recession that has plagued local and state governments across the country, layoffs in Yakima were staved off this year when the City Council agreed to tap nearly $3 million in reserves.

Zais said dipping into the city's savings account is not sustainable, however. He tries to have 7 percent of the city's general fund budget set aside as a financial cushion.

Finishing touches on the 2010 budget forecast were still being made late Monday. The final draft was not expected to be made public or distributed to the City Council until late in the day.

Even so, next year's general fund budget will be roughly 4 percent smaller than this year's budget, Zais said.

In dollar figures, that means the city's current budget of about $62 million will shrink to around $59 million next year.

The size of next year's deficit is not certain because contract talks are under way with the various unions that represent city staff. With the exception of the police union, most of the city's union contracts expire in December.

Zais said the city's overall budget of approximately $200 million will shrink even more than the general fund -- about 10 percent.

The overall budget counts a number of city enterprises -- primarily sewer, water and other utilities -- that are not supported directly by local taxes.

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or at cbristol@yakimaherald.com.