Kittitas County commissioners agree to establish $150,000 abatement fund

Kittitas County commissioners agreed on Jan. 15 to set up a dedicated abatement fund using $150,000 from the General Fund to centralize expense tracking and clarify who makes abatement decisions.

County Administrator Zack DeHaven told the finance study session that a dedicated fund would allow better tracking: “To establish this fund, it is recommended to use $150,000 from General Fund.” Chad Bala, director of Community Development Services (CDS), said the abatement fund would be housed in CDS and that the county would execute an MOU with the department working on abatements; the prosecutor’s office will review that MOU. “The abatement process could be a three-year timeline,” DeHaven said.

Commissioners Laura Osiadacz and Cory Wright indicated support and agreed to set up the fund during the session. No formal motion or roll-call vote is recorded in the finance study session minutes; staff will follow up with the administrative steps and the proposed MOU for legal review.

Why it matters: county abatement work often touches multiple departments and can involve enforcement, property cleanup costs, and interdepartmental billing. County officials said the dedicated fund is intended to separate one-time or case-specific abatement expenses from operating budgets, improving transparency and allowing clearer budgeting over a multi-year period.

Next steps: staff will draft the MOU and route the agreement to the prosecutor’s office for review before returning any required budget or administrative items to the board for formal adoption or amendment.