Olympia city manager announces spending, hiring freeze at council meeting. Here’s why
Olympia City Manager Jay Burney delivered some serious economic news on Tuesday, telling the city council he was enacting a freeze on city spending, hiring and travel after revenue fell in April.
Among the revenue sources that fell: sales tax revenue, which was lower by $200,000 in April.
“Although I am hoping that this is a blip, not a trend, I think it is prudent to exercise some caution,” Burney said. “I don’t want to get too far into the year to affect change if our revenues continue to decline.”
A breakdown of his announcement:
▪ Spending freeze: He is asking city department directors to freeze spending on discretionary items within their budgets, with the exception of necessary safety protective equipment or funds needed to advance priority work.
▪ Travel freeze: Out-of-state travel is being restricted unless required for certifications.
▪ Hiring freeze: Burney called it a “soft hiring freeze,” saying all positions must be approved by him before an offer of employment is made.
“At this moment in time, I’m going to continue to work with the council and monitor our budget moving forward, and if sales tax or other indicators I’m tracking improve, we can modify this direction moving forward as needed,” he said.
During a break in Tuesday’s council meeting, Burney explained the other revenue sources that have dipped, in addition to sales tax revenue, as well as city expenses that have climbed higher.
▪ Development fees: Developers pay those fees, which help support the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department. Those fees also came in lower than expected in April, he said.
▪ Basic life support transport: This is the first year that the city is charging those who are injured and transported by the Olympia Fire Department’s medical vehicles. Most of that cost is covered by health insurance, Burney said, but the portion that isn’t is covered by the individual. Those payments, too, are running a bit behind, he said.
▪ Jail costs: Olympia, like other cities in the county, has a contract with the Nisqually Tribe to house misdemeanor offenders in their jail, but those expenses have increased.
So what is going on? Does the drop in revenue reflect the state of the economy?
Burney said he’s not sure because it was just one month, but here are some of the things that could be affecting revenue: decisions made at the federal level, talk of tariffs, or consumers just might be nervous about the state of the economy, he said.
As for the lower development fees, this just might be a pause in building activity before the summer construction season gets underway, Burney said.
Residents, too, just might be behind in paying for the basic life support transport services, he said.
“So I have all these indicators that I’m constantly watching on a quarterly basis,” Burney said. “And when I see the combination of all those things, costs up in some areas, revenues down in others, they start to paint a picture for me. And so when I feel like they’re not where we’d like them to be, it’s time to exercise some caution. And that’s really the moment in time we are at now, okay? And I think it’s the responsible thing for us to do.”
Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne thanked Burney for the update.
“It’s indicative of where we are with our municipal budget, but we appreciate your leadership, and you know we’ll get through this year just like we did last year,” he said.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
