(The Center Square) – Pasco public safety services are facing large cuts as the city considers eliminating 37 positions in the city’s police and fire departments.
The city’s preliminary 2027-2028 budget calls for nearly $14.6 million in reductions to the General Fund, including 22 police department positions and 15 fire department positions, as officials work to address an ongoing budget deficit.
“We cannot put our Pasco citizens at risk for numbers on a spreadsheet,” said Jeremy Garrett, president of Pasco Firefighters Local 1433.
Despite Pasco’s growth and a busy fire season, proposed fire department reductions include closing a fire station, removing an engine and a medic unit from service and eliminating the department’s HAZMAT team and chaplaincy services.
The Pasco City Council is scheduled to discuss the budget Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at Pasco City Hall. The meeting is a workshop, and no formal action is expected.
Garrett told The Center Square that the potential reductions would leave fewer resources available when residents need emergency assistance.
The proposal would reduce the city’s five fire stations to four, Garrett said.
“That means less emergency resources available,” he said.
Garrett also expressed concern about wildfire response and Pasco firefighters’ role in providing mutual aid to Kennewick, Richland, West Richland, Connell and surrounding areas in both Franklin and Benton counties.
“A reduction of services like this, to my knowledge, has never happened, this is a reduction of response to those wildfire calls,” Garrett said.
He said he plans to attend Tuesday’s meeting and wants council members to examine all available options before reducing public safety staffing.
“We cannot balance the budget on the back of public safety if, in fact, we need to make reductions,” Garrett said.
Police, fire departments face reductions
According to the city’s preliminary budget report, the proposed police cuts would reduce staffing by 22 positions, affecting commissioned officers, support personnel and management.
Potential service impacts include reduced police lobby hours, closure of the Lewis Street and Alderwood police substations, reduced community outreach and changes to the department’s K-9 program, including plans not to replace two retiring K-9s.
The proposed fire department reductions would eliminate 15 positions and reduce emergency response resources.
City staff said their analysis found the remaining department could continue meeting National Fire Protection Association standards, but warned of potential impacts on response times, overlapping emergency calls, overtime costs and reliance on mutual aid during major incidents.
“We’re worried about our jobs, but, man, we’re worried about this city,” Garrett told The Center Square.
The proposal would also reduce staffing and services in other departments, including parks and recreation, permitting and code enforcement. Cuts could also affect city-sponsored events and community programs.
City cites revenue limits and rising costs
Pasco Finance Director Kevin Hebdon said that the city’s ongoing expenses have outpaced ongoing revenue, leading officials to rely on reserves to maintain services.
“City staff have been working to identify scenarios for building a sustainable budget while considering the services residents rely on, the employees who provide those services and the City’s long-term financial health,” the city said on its budget website.
The city’s presentation identifies limits on property tax revenue under Washington law, state and federal mandates, growing population, inflation and rising service demands as budget pressures.
State law generally limits annual property tax revenue increases to 1%, excluding new construction, or the applicable implicit price deflator, whichever is lower. That limit can constrain revenue growth even as the cost of providing city services increases.
The city added 53.4 General Fund positions in 2023, increasing annual costs by $12.8 million. Revenue grew by only $1.3 million during the same period, according to the report.
The report also cites inflation and rising labor, supply, service and capital costs as contributing pressures.
The General Fund has run an ongoing deficit every year since 2023, the report said.
Pasco’s preliminary budget projects General Fund revenue of about $79.97 million in 2027 and $80.30 million in 2028.
The proposed budget would bring the General Fund close to structural balance, but the city still anticipates using about $1.77 million in reserves in 2028, according to its financial projections.
Pasco City Councilman Leo Perales said the city’s financial problems stem in part from expanding staffing without sufficient long-term revenue to support the ongoing costs.
“We decided to hire staff with the use of reserves and we kept on expanding staff for two budget cycles,” Perales said in a statement to The Center Square. “Our revenue has flatlined and it has for some time.”
Perales said he called for the city to scale back spending two years ago and was the only council member to vote against that budget.
He said the city needs to stop adding permanent positions without a reliable source of recurring revenue.
“Our policy of just expanding government without revenue, which to me is our philosophy, needs to be revisited and dealt with first,” Perales said.