Snohomish County voters to decide on 0.2% public safety sales tax

(The Center Square) – Snohomish County voters will have final say on a proposed 0.2% sales tax increase this fall.

On July 10, the Snohomish County Council unanimously approved the placement of a public safety sales tax levy on this November's general election ballot. If approved by voters, the generated funds would aid in the county’s efforts to address crime and the region’s worsening drug epidemic.

The levy was proposed by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, who previously issued an executive directive tasking the Department of Emergency Management with coordinating the county’s response to the drug crisis.

If passed, the tax would cost county residents an extra $46.58 per year, or about two cents per $10 purchase.

Estimated annual revenue is $39.6 million, according to a staff report . The sales tax revenue would see 60%, or $23.76 million, go to Snohomish County per year, and the remaining 40%, or $15.84 million, go to cities based on population, contingent upon whether or not those cities have enacted their own local sales tax.

The county would dedicate more than 50% of its allocated funding for criminal justice purposes and the remaining for other public safety priorities. Planned initiatives include hiring more law enforcement officers; putting more resources into the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Public Defense, and county courts to ensure prosecution of criminal suspects; increasing treatment services for addiction in jails; and creating programs to address graffiti, derelict vehicles and other visible signs of criminal activity.

Snohomish County's crime rate has remained relatively the same as 2023, but less than in 2022, which was an unprecedented year for crime in the Puget Sound region. So far this year through July 18, there have been 310 cases of violent crime and 1,846 cases of property crime.

Notably, there have been eight homicides in the county, according to its crime dashboard . That is one less than the nine in all of 2021 and 2023. There were 13 homicides in 2022.

Washington Policy Center Small Business Center Director Mark Harmsworth said that the sales tax is an example of government transparency that allows voters to make a decision on the proposed sales tax hike.

“I think the levy is a reasonable request for additional funding for criminal justice given the current demands from the increase in illegal activity we are seeing in Snohomish [County],” Harmsworth told The Center Square in an email. “My understanding from the language in the ordinance is that the majority of the funding has to go to law enforcement and can’t be used on other county programs.”

The general election is Nov. 5.