First Yakima Police Officer Hired from Utility Tax Increase Money
The city of Yakima hires the first of 12 police officers made possible from an increase in utility taxes.
The tax increase passed by the council, raises $2 million to pay for the officers. It's a far cry from the time when the city faced the prospect of having six vacant officer positions go unfilled.
The police department has a total of 13 officer openings, one officer resigned last month.
The acting police chief believes the hiring process for those openings could take the entire year.