Editorial: Put 2 cents to work with public safety tax increase

By The Herald Editorial Board

Snohomish County is looking for your two cents to help address the county’s fentanyl crisis and a range of other public safety needs; not your thoughts — although those are welcome, too — so much as two cents from most $10 purchases you make.

The county is seeking voter approval of a measure on the Nov. 5 general election ballot that would increase the sales tax collected in the county and its cities by 2/10ths of 1 percent, adding 2 cents to a $10 purchase.

There’s no legitimate dispute over the addictive hold of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, nor over the toll those drugs have taken on lives and communities at local, state and national levels.

Even as the number of overdose deaths nationwide has begun to ebb from its June 2023 peak, the latest estimate for those deaths as of this April was more than 101,000 for the preceding 12-month period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Washington state’s expected annual death toll as of this April was more than 3,500 deaths, while in Snohomish County some 264 fatal opioid overdoses were reported for 2023, about five such deaths each week, with fentanyl implicated in nearly all of those deaths, according to Snohomish County Health Department figures.

Treatment for substance use disorder, which includes medication and behavioral therapies, can be effective in treating addiction to fentanyl and other opioids. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that almost all of those treated — 99 percent — achieved remission, with an earlier study showing that those who remain in treatment for six months achieve abstinence. Often, however, persuading someone with addiction to begin treatment can prove difficult because of the drug’s addictive hold.

Washington does have a state law — Ricky’s Law — that allows for involuntary treatment. The problem for the state is that it has too few beds available to meet the need.

The state currently has two “secure management facilities” in Washington state, one in Kent, another in Vancouver, offering a total of 77 beds; and that’s a decrease from more than 90 beds after the recent closure of a facility in Spokane, said Snohomish County Prosecutor Jason Cummings, in an interview this week.

“Ricky’s Law is something that we have not been able to even utilize in Snohomish County,” Cummings said.

Part of what the sales tax increase would fund includes — starting with 16 beds — a facility with up to 48 beds in the county that would improve access to treatment in the county. There’s state and federal money to fund the treatment programs, Cummings said, but local funds have to provide the capital facility costs to qualify for the program funding. While, because of federal funding, the facility would have to accept patients from across the state, opportunities for access for Snohomish County residents would increase, Cummings said.

In all, the sales tax increase is expected to bring in about $24 million each year to the county, while the cities in the county would split about $15 million to $16 million, based on population and directed at similar public safety needs.

As well as the treatment facility and additional funds for medically assisted treatment at the county jail, the revenue would beef up funding for a range of public safety needs in the county and cities. Among the commitments that the county has made, with unanimous approval by the county council, include:

The hiring and training of more deputies and other officers, as well as hiring for needs in the prosecutor’s office, public defense and courts;

A second community resource center, such as the center based in the former Carnegie library, which has successfully connected people with substance abuse and behavioral health needs with resources for treatment, life skills and job training and more; and

Programs to address graffiti, derelict vehicles and other visible public safety issues.

County Executive Dave Somers says he and the council didn’t approach the ballot measure lightly, recognizing the commitment asked of voters to add to the sales taxes they pay.

“But this is the tool the Legislature gave us,” Somers said. “We don’t have any other options.”

There aren’t other revenue sources available to add to public safety, he said, while meeting current needs with available revenue, limited as it is after a couple of years of inflation and state law that requires local governments to cap increases in property tax revenue to 1 percent.

The state law allows the county to seek up to a 3/10ths of 1 percent increase to the sales tax; the county is seeking 2/10ths, a “middle ground,” Somers said, that would provide the resources for what it wants to do. The tax increase exempts groceries, medications and vehicle sales.

Nor will the additional funding be used to “back-fill” existing programs, Somers said.

“These are new programs to address what everybody sees on the street,” he said.

Cummings agreed: “This is designated funding that’s going to address public safety and the substance use disorder issues that we’re seeing on our streets.”

It will mean that Cummings’ office will be able to step up prosecution of felonies, often cases that because of backlogs have to be referred back to cities that can only prosecute the cases as misdemeanors in municipal courts.

“It allows us to actually hold more folks accountable, which also helps drive more people in” to treatment or other diversion programs, he said.

County Sheriff Susanna Johnson, in an email, agreed that it was not an easy decision to seek a tax increase, but the needs of the county and its cities are great, and there are solutions available that can address those needs.

“If we don’t ask, we aren’t being honest about the scale of the problem and our need for new tools to address the challenges we face,” Johnson said.

As two recent failures of tax issues on local ballots in August showed, this is a tricky time to be asking voters to volunteer for a tax increase. But voters should weigh the cost against the potential benefit that can result.

A 2/10ths of 1 percent increase will add a dime to a $50 purchase at the hardware store. Somers’ office earlier this summer estimated that over the course of a week it would add less than a $1 to individuals’ purchases and about $47 over a year. That, yes, is $47 out of your pocket. But added to the $47 from the pockets of each of your neighbors across the county, it can provide solutions to the public safety crises that many have demanded of leaders at the county and city level.

The editorial board joins those officials in urging a yes vote on Snohomish County’s Proposition 1 on your ballot.