Local resident Rachael Haskins wants to know how taxpayer money is being spent in Yelm.
Haskins spoke to the City Council about her concerns during the public comment portion of the Aug. 8 City Council meeting.
Before Haskins could discuss her areas of concern, she said there have been several positive community-based events that she’s been happy to see occur in the city. She said the events included National Night Out and Jazz in the Park. She also said she’d like to see a YMCA come to Yelm to “bring the community together.”
“I like the idea of having a nearby ER or urgent care facility that’s being discussed, which I know Councilmember Johnstone is passionate about and Mayor DePinto is working on,” Haskins said. “I love that idea.”
Haskins then added that she’s been trying to be more present at Yelm City Council meetings, mainly by asking questions while she can. She said she’s challenged counselors to help the community in the outskirts of Yelm and within city limits.
She stated that, according to the Yelm City Council study session on Aug. 1, of the 57 police officers hired for the June 10 Pride Fest and drag show events, just 12 were from the City of Yelm. Haskins added that a total of $7,349.78 was paid to the officers, while the City also provided an additional $1,022.11 in meals for all of the police officers. The grand total amount of spending on the event was $8,371.89.
“Forty-five officers were hired outside of the City of Yelm’s tax jurisdiction. Therefore, you involved every citizen and the State of Washington and Thurston County when you used our tax dollars to pay for the City of Yelm’s public safety responsibility,” Haskins said. “These were planned events on June 10, so you did not consider this an urgent public safety emergency. If it would’ve been a public safety emergency, why didn’t you cancel the events like you did during COVID to protect the public?”
She added that in the Bald Hills area in unincorporated Thurston County, “many” motor vehicle accident-related deaths have occurred.
“We need every tax dollar we pay for in this area to strategize, enforce and plan ways to reduce the number of people dying in motor vehicle-related crashes,” Haskins said.
Haskins had several questions for Yelm City Council members while she spoke at the podium. She asked if the City would reimburse the State of Washington or Thurston County taxpayers for using tax dollars from their budget for Washington State Patrol or Thurston County Sheriff deputies present on June 10.
She also asked if the City would offer that level of security to businesses within city limits, and if not, why?
Haskins added that as the city grows, there should be factors built into the price of facilities including security costs, types of vendors, noise levels, usage of facility, if the event is family friendly, crowd control, traffic management and revenue capabilities. She added that the council should even consider having a committee to “review the events as they submit applications.”
