Ordinance A—Declaring the City Council’s intent to increase the City’s 2015 regular property tax levy up to 101% of the amount levied in the previous year, plus new construction, annexation, and refunds.

Ordinance B—fixing and levying the 2016 ad valorem property taxes and excess levy taxes for the City of Yakima.

These ordinances follow state law imposing a 1% increase in the property tax levy for 2016, plus new levies for construction and refunds, and are the basis on which the 2016 budget was developed and balanced. Because the 1% increase is greater than the inflation rate (Implicit Price Deflator or IPD), these ordinances require super-majority approval (i.e. 5-2).  The attached memorandum discusses the importance of the property tax levy, and sets forth the "substantial need" to exceed the rate of inflation of 0.25%, and approve a modest 1% increase in the levy. 

The full 1% increase amounts to about $177,000, while the inflationary increase is about $44,000.  So if Council does not approve the 1%, then General Government revenue would be reduced by $133,000.  Since this budget is balanced with revenue exceeding expenditures of $31,000, Council could then choose to use beginning fund balance of approximately $102,000, or direct a corresponding reduction in expenditures.