Pasco City Council members reviewed two new budget scenarios at a special meeting Thursday that would save most police and fire jobs targeted for elimination, but still cut deeply into Parks and Recreation, including closing Memorial Aquatic Park and eliminating youth sports programs.
No final decisions were made. Council members said they want more adjustments and more public input before moving forward, according to NBC Right Now. The meeting followed an Oct. 13 workshop that drew roughly 300 residents, most opposed to the city's original cost-cutting plan.
That earlier proposal called for eliminating more than 50 full-time city jobs, including 22 police positions and 15 fire and EMS positions, to close a projected $14.4 million gap in the general fund, according to Apple Valley News Now. Tri-Cities Today has followed the budget fight since that gap first became public.
Two new paths, two different trade-offs
City staff presented council with two revised options Oct. 22, according to Apple Valley News Now. One would preserve all but one of the originally targeted first-responder positions, but would "gut" the Parks Department, cutting staff and eliminating programs including Memorial Aquatic Park and youth sports. The other would save 19 of the public-safety positions and minimize parks cuts, but would require voters or council to approve additional sales and property tax.
Under the deepest-cut scenario, fire would lose $2,211,680, or 19% of its budget, and police would lose $5,310,703, or 17% of its budget. A finance department slideshow presented at the meeting said that scenario would also force the city to close the Lewis Street and Alderwood area fire stations, leave two retiring police K9s unreplaced, and end the department's Citizen Academy.
Jeremy Garrett, president of Pasco Firefighters Local 1433, told the council neither new option was acceptable. "I don't think either plan was great," he said, according to Apple Valley News Now. At the meeting, Garrett also said: "We understand the financial crisis facing our city and we are committed to being a part of this solution. However, our community cannot afford and does not deserve to see firefighters become part of those cuts."
Resident Nicole Austin told council members she'd rather pay more in taxes than watch the parks system cut apart. "As a citizen of this city, I am willing to pay for things like not decimating parks and like I'm getting emotional. Not decimating parks and wreck," she said, per NBC Right Now.
Councilman Leo Perales staked out a hard line on public safety. "I will not entertain a proposed budget where we cut police, fire and our EMS," he said, according to The Center Square.
The numbers behind the gap
City Manager Harold Stewart told council Pasco expects to end 2026 with about $16 million in general fund reserves. The city spends roughly $7.5 million a month from that fund, and the Government Finance Officers Association recommends keeping at least two months of operating costs in reserve. Stewart said even a no-new-tax option still leaves a roughly $2.5 million gap in 2027 that would require dipping further into reserves.
This is Stewart's first budget in his 20-year career managing cities, and he has called it the most difficult he's ever drafted, according to the Tri-City Herald. The shortfall traces back to years of spending outpacing revenue, a state cap limiting annual property tax growth to 1% excluding new construction, rising inflation and fuel costs, and reliance on one-time reserve transfers. The city budgeted $6 million a year from reserves in both 2025 and 2026, according to Firehouse.com.
The original cuts proposal also targeted city-sponsored events such as Cinco de Mayo and the Grand Old Fourth Parade, after-school and senior center programs, and the Pasco Specialty Kitchen, according to the Tri-City Herald. The Specialty Kitchen and the city's farmers market program have been part of that broader budget squeeze for months.
What's next
The council has scheduled public budget hearings for Nov. 2 and Nov. 16, with a final budget expected to be adopted in December, according to The Center Square. Residents who want to weigh in on whether the city should cut deeper into parks or raise taxes to protect both public safety and recreation programs will have those two meetings to make their case before council votes.
