(The Center Square) – Tacoma officials announced a hiring freeze Tuesday ahead of a potential $15 million deficit across 2027 and 2028 as personnel costs sit more than 25% above pre-pandemic levels.
According to the city’s announcement, the freeze on hiring and promotions took effect immediately and could last through the end of the year. It applies to general government positions, saving taxpayer dollars while still providing some flexibility for public safety departments to maintain staffing.
The decision was framed as a safeguard for the city’s long-term financial health ahead of negotiations on the 2027-28 biennial budget. Tacoma implemented a similar cost-saving measure in 2024, when it faced another $24 million budget hole heading into 2025 and 2026, saving taxpayers an estimated $4.8 million.
“This temporary freeze on hiring and promotions provides the City with the opportunity to carefully evaluate its organizational needs and align its staffing with community priorities, long-term strategic goals, and current financial realities,” City Manager Hyun Kim wrote in the Tuesday announcement.
Tacoma has been forecasting a $15 million gap in 2027-28 since at least 2024, according to reporting by The News Tribune. City officials have attributed the deficit to inflation and spending outpacing revenue growth, compounded by the drying up of federal pandemic assistance funds in Tacoma and other cities.
According to Tacoma’s 2025-26 adopted budget, personnel costs account for 59% of the general fund.
Leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tacoma authorized funding for 3,874.5 full-time employees in the citywide 2019-20 budget, which includes every department. The 2025-26 budget then authorized funding for 4,290.24 FTEs, expanding citywide staffing by around 10.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
When looking only at the general fund, the 2019-20 budget authorized funding for 985.4 FTEs, which only increased to 996.27 FTEs in the 2025-26 budget, about 1% over a few years. Despite the small increase, personnel costs have shot up from $298.3 million in 2019-20 to $375.5 million in 2025-26.
The difference between the 2019-20 and 2025-26 adopted budgets in staffing costs is roughly 25.8%.
City officials attributed the pressures in the 2025-26 budget to rising wages and slow revenue growth.
“The City remains deeply committed to its workforce and to serving the Tacoma community efficiently during this period of deliberate fiscal evaluation,” Hyun Kim wrote in the hiring freeze announcement.
