City of East Wenatchee Bracing for Impacts of Inflation

Just like all municipalities in the United States, the City of East Wenatchee is already grappling with the effects of inflation.

East Wenatchee Mayor, Jerrilea Crawford, says as the cost of just about everything continues to go up, there may come a time when the city will have to make some tough decisions.

“At some point, what do you do? Do you not fill a pothole perhaps? Do you not expand your services and offer more programs for citizens? It’s hard to know what you should take away because we’re already pretty lean as it is.”

The city reports the cost increase of some items, such as new vehicles for the city’s police fleet - which have gone up by as much as 23 percent, are simply too much for it to keep up with.

Crawford adds that despite the expanding bottom line, the city is in good financial shape and hopes to make its budget stretch enough to outlast the inflationary trend.

“The City of East Wenatchee’s really in a good financial position this year, and next year I think it will be fine. But we are definitely going to feel inflation hit us, and we’re going to try and spread it out over time so we can recoup. But it will be a challenge.”

The city’s overall total budget for 2022 is roughly $29 million, with expenditures projected to outpace revenue by about $2.6 million.