SNOHOMISH COUNTY—Snohomish County voters are invited to join Executive Somers, Sheriff Johnson, and Prosecuting Attorney Cummings at a public safety town hall, hosted by Safe Snohomish County, to discuss Proposition 1—the proposed 0.2% Public Safety Sales Tax—on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 6 p.m.
To participate, please join us on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86358103981) on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. Attendees will be able to ask questions of our participants.
The participants will be presenting their perspectives on public safety, in particular the fentanyl crisis, and how they plan both to develop new and to expand existing programs to keep our homes, streets, and communities safer, if Proposition 1 passes this November.
Public Safety Sales Tax Proposition 1 was placed on the ballot by the Snohomish County Council unanimously on July 10. The resources would be split between the county (60%) and cities (40%) to ensure accountability.
If the voters approve the Public Safety Sales Tax:
- Snohomish County will be able to hire more law enforcement officers to ensure the cartels, drug dealers, and criminals will be held accountable.
- The County will be able to add more resources to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Public Defense, and Courts to ensure we can prosecute those who are arrested for crimes.
- The County will establish a Secure Withdrawal Management facility in Snohomish County to provide more capacity for those who need to get clean, vitally increasing the 77 beds that are now available statewide.
- Snohomish County would establish a second community resource center like Carnegie which has shown success in helping get people connected with services.
- The County would increase treatment services for addiction in our jail.
- The County would create programs to address graffiti, derelict vehicles, and other visible signs of the crisis.
Proponent Voter Pamphlet statement for Prop 1
Public safety is everyone’s top priority, but without investments to meet urgent priorities, our communities, small businesses, and families will continue to suffer the impacts of crime, gun violence, and fentanyl addiction.
This is why we need to pass Prop 1 to improve staffing, response, and treatment across Snohomish County.
While Snohomish County’s population has grown quickly, the number of law enforcement officers has not
kept pace. Per capita staffing in Washington is actually the lowest in the U.S. at 1.36 officers per thousand
residents, even though the county spends over 75% of the general fund on public safety agencies.
Juveniles are committing more serious crimes. Graffiti and derelict vehicles, visible signs of crime, have
become too common. Understaffed agencies are less able to successfully prosecute criminals. We are also
missing tools for compassionate accountability.
Invest In Proven Solutions: More law enforcement officers and prosecutors; Proven crime and violence
reduction strategies; New, secure drug rehabilitation facility; New graffiti removal programs; Expanded drug treatment; Programs to prevent youth violence.
Cost and Accountability: Prop 1 will cost two cents per ten-dollar purchase. That is less than a dollar a week or fifty dollars a year average per resident. 100% of the funds will be used for public safety, with 60% going to the county and 40% to cities—and audited to ensure accountability.
Your Yes vote will improve safety and keep Snohomish County a great place to live.
Opponent Voter Pamphlet statement for Prop 1
Snohomish County already has the highest sales taxes in our state – this proposal would make us #1 in the entire country, making life harder for those on tight budgets or fixed incomes. And raising the sales tax will push shoppers to go to nearby counties with lower taxes, hurting local businesses. The people pushing for this tax say it’s needed to fight the drug crisis and improve public safety, but the real problem is the legislation pushed and passed by the Democrat party that made drug use more prevalent, while tying the hands of our police – thus bringing more addicts, crime, and problems into our communities. So instead of once again asking the citizens to make sacrifices by providing more hard-earned money, we should first focus on putting an end to policies that only make things worse.
Additionally, we don’t need a sales tax increase to drive additional tax revenues and keep our communities safe – because as property values rise and the Snohomish County population increases, so too does the money the county collects. That is – if we don’t make it totally unaffordable to live here.
This tax increase won’t solve the real problems and will hurt the people who can afford it the least. Before asking us for more, county officials should look at their budgets, reconsider priorities, and cut waste.
Vote No on the sales tax hike and tell our leaders to fix what’s broken instead of making us pay for their
mistakes.
