HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/25/2026 Special Meeting229
YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
August 25, 2026
City Hall - Council Chambers - 129 N 2nd Street, Yakima WA
5:30 PM City Council Special Meeting - Conducted in person and virtually via Zoom.
1) Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m.
Present: Mayor Matt Brown, presiding; Assistant Mayor Reedy Berg and Councilmembers
Patricia Byers, Rick Glenn, Felisa Gonzalez, Juliet Potrykus and Leo Roy
Staff: City Manager Vicki Baker, City Attorney Sara Watkins and City Clerk Rosalinda
lbarra
Mayor Brown led the Pledge of Allegiance,
2) Public Comment (allow 15 minutes)
Tony Courcy, City resident, spoke about stormwater utilities and mentioned a meeting
with a university relating to payment of utilities.
Avery Greg, City resident and President of Yakima Valley Landlords Association,
provided suggestions for improvements to the utility billing process.
3) Special Meeting Items
3.A Discussion About Utility Billing Practices
Director of Finance & Budget Craig Warner and Utility Customer Services Manager
Anabel Chavez presented detailed information about the City's current utility billing
collection practice and outlined potential areas for improvement. The city manages
approximately 33,000 utility accounts for five utilities which are billed on a bi-monthly
schedule. Staff noted that tenant accounts currently are the responsibility of the
owner and responded to questions from Councilmembers related to the topic.
Staff described issues related to their billing software and shared some potential
improvement considerations such as transitioning to a monthly billing cycle, offering
discounts for electronic bills and auto -pay, updating the deposit policy, and replacing
the existing utility billing software system. Mr. Warner highlighted challenges related
to the meter replacement project, "ghost" meters, deposit shortfalls, uncollectable
accounts, and the elimination of the penny. Further review and discussion is
necessary before any measures are fully implemented,
Additionally, Mr. Warner reported that the city will need to assume responsibility of
billing for the stormwater assessment beginning in 2027, as Yakima County's new
billing system will not continue to support this billing method. Staff will present
Council with options soon to determine the best path forward.
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Next steps include conducting a survey to seek feedback from the community
and stakeholders about billing frequency, billing delivery options, and payment
options.
4) Adjournment
MOTION: Byers moved and Berg seconded to adjourn to the next City Council
regular meeting on September 1, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council
Chambers. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
CERTIFICATION
READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY
ATTEST.
CITY CLERK YOR
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