Yakima City Council adopts resolution expressing concern about county homeless coalition performance

The Yakima City Council on March 4 adopted a resolution saying the city has “profound concerns” about the performance and accountability of the Yakima County Homeless Coalition and that it may pursue alternative strategies if meaningful reform does not follow.

The resolution was adopted after about an hour of public comment from business owners, residents and providers and more than an hour of council discussion. The vote was 5 in favor, 2 opposed.

Commissioner Cal Curtis of Yakima County, who addressed the council during public comment, said the draft resolution “stems from frustration” with conditions on city streets but urged changes that empower oversight rather than replace county staff. “We do not need a different entity to run the day to day administration of contracts and funds, but rather … a project coordinator that has no ties to government,” Curtis said.

Deputy Mayor Matt Brown, who introduced the resolution, said the city needs a stronger role in decisions that affect street conditions and public safety. “If we don’t have a plan and then it’s not getting executed well, then what are we doing?” Brown said, and moved to adopt the measure.

County staff member Esther (last name not provided) described how homelessness funding is awarded and tracked. She said county contracts are reimbursed only after providers submit documentation showing allowable costs and that the county — not the city — holds the contracts. “We don’t provide cash upfront. You have to incur the cost, and then you have to provide us the documentation,” Esther said.

Council members who supported the resolution said the move is intended to press for reforms, including clearer performance metrics, better city representation in decision-making and stronger annual reporting. Opponents, including Councilmember Decio and Councilmember Herrera, said they were concerned the measure could be punitive to service providers and preferred reforms rather than a show of “no confidence.”

The adopted resolution states the city’s intent to explore alternative strategies if the coalition does not implement meaningful reforms; it does not immediately cut or reallocate funding. The council did not specify an implementation deadline in the resolution.

Votes and next steps: the council took the formal vote by roll call; the tally was Byers — yes; Decio — no; Glenn — yes; Herrera — no; Roy — yes; Berg — yes; Brown — yes. The council and commissioners indicated interest in scheduling a joint meeting to work on the governance and accountability questions raised during the discussion.

Why this matters: Yakima officials and downtown business owners testified to rising street-level problems — camping, vandalism and public sanitation issues — and said they want measurable, enforceable improvements from the region’s homeless response system. County officials said structural changes and data improvements are already under way, and county staff offered to return to the council with regular updates.