The city of Yakima has hired Craig Warner as its new finance director.
Warner worked in the finance and budget area with Yakima County for almost 40 years and was the county’s finance and budget director between 2001 and 2025. He retired in January.
He replaces Viren Mayani, who helped craft the city’s 2025 budget and left the position after six months. Mike Bailey, a retired finance director, served as interim finance director after Mayani left in March.
Warner has local roots that go beyond his decades working with Yakima County. He graduated from West Valley High School and earned degrees at Yakima Valley College and Central Washington University.
“After retiring from Yakima County earlier this year, I knew I wanted to continue to work and initially explored private-sector opportunities,” Warner said in a news release. “The chance to put my skills to work at the city presented itself and I’m looking forward to being part of the city’s senior management team. Yakima is my home and I’m excited to help it be successful.”
In his new role with the city, Warner will oversee around 35 employees in the city’s Financial Services, Purchasing and Utility Services divisions and tackle a roughly $9 million shortfall in the city’s general fund.
City officials have been soliciting community feedback as they figure out how to solve the shortfall and are trying to implement a priority-based budgeting process to incorporate more public input and link budget spending to community goals.
Warner started on Wednesday.
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