MARYSVILLE — The city’s sales tax is going up by 0.1 percent starting Tuesday.
The increase will add about 10 cents to a $100 purchase in Marysville. The money is going toward a new jail and police station. Construction should start around the summer, said Connie Mennie, a spokeswoman for the city.
Initially the building was going to be 46,000 square feet and have 50 jail cells, but those numbers might decrease slightly. The city is working with architects to design a large enough space while keeping it affordable, Mennie said.
The city doesn’t anticipate the square footage to change much. The jail likely will have space for about 90 inmates, instead of the original 115. The plan is to leave some extra room, in case there needs to be more beds someday, Mennie said.
The police station on Grove Street was built in 1986. Since then the number of employees in the department has quadrupled. The city’s population also has grown by about 60,000 people.
The sales tax increase is expected to pay for 70 percent of the jail and police station. The rest of the money would come from the city’s general fund. The construction was first estimated to cost $23 million.
The new sales tax is 9.2 percent. The highest rate in Snohomish County is 10.4 percent and the lowest is 8.9 percent.
This is the first step in a plan to create a civic center, which eventually would include City Hall, a municipal court and other services. It would go on about 6 acres along Delta Avenue, near Comeford Park. City officials plan to talk with contractors about price before they know when it could all be built.
Marysville’s sales tax measure was on ballots during the primary election in August. Voters approved the proposition with a nearly 54 percent yes vote.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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