SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane City Council voted 6-1 Wednesday to approve an ordinance establishing a new 0.1% sales tax and use that tax to fund a new Community Safety Campus and expand mental health response investments.
The tax will cost $1 for every $1,000 residents and visitors spend in the city, with essential items including food, prescriptions and rent exempt. The effective date is Jan. 1, 2027.
Council Member Michael Cathcart cast the dissenting vote, expressing concerns about the process. “Fully support more public safety spending and revenues, and if it was on a ballot with a good plan and the right sunset, I’d consider voting for it. But as this stands now with what’s being asked of us to consider, I cannot vote yes,” Cathcart said.
Council Member Paul Dillon countered that a 2024 sales tax vote in Spokane gives the council authority to make this decision without public input. In that vote, 60 percent of voters favored a similar tax. “As part of the bill, councils and local governments do have the authority to do this increase without a vote. We can do it councilmanicly. So that’s the path that we decided on in order for this to move quickly, we want to see this implemented in the new year,” Dillon said.
Revenue from the sales tax will fund the city’s purchase of the Rock Pointe East Building on Boone, which will consolidate all community safety operations, including court and police operations currently spread across three buildings leased from Spokane County.
Officials expect the consolidation to dramatically improve the efficiency of municipal court operations and save millions of dollars in structural improvements planned for current county facilities.
While council members acknowledge the tax will increase spending for residents and visitors, they argue it will generate long-term savings. “You are going to see long term savings every visit to the emergency room, people that are sent to jail, the jail has a dual role as a mental health facility and that’s not right. And so when we look at getting the right people to the right call, this is an investment that is actually going to save taxpayer dollars,” Dillon said.
The sales tax revenue will also allow the city to further integrate behavioral health into public safety systems and improve emergency preparedness through the state’s Public Safety Funding Program.
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