Online Public Safety Sales Tax Town Hall will be held on October 2

SNOHOMISH COUNTY– Snohomish County voters are invited to join Executive Somers, Sheriff Johnson and Prosecutor Cummings at a Public Safety Town Hall hosted by Safe Snohomish County to discuss Proposition 1 – the proposed 0.2% Public Safety Sales Tax discuss on Wednesday, October 2. , 2024, at 6 p.m

To participate, please join Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86358103981) on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 6:00 PM. Visitors can ask questions to our participants.

Participants will present their views on public safety, specifically the fentanyl crisis, and how they plan to develop new programs and expand existing programs to keep our homes, streets and communities safer, if Proposition 1 becomes law in November accepted.

Public Safety Sales Tax Proposition 1 was unanimously put to a vote by the Snohomish County Council on July 10. The funds would be divided between the province (60%) and the cities (40%) to ensure accountability.

If voters approve the Public Safety Sales Tax:

• Snohomish County will be able to hire more law enforcement officers to ensure cartels, drug dealers and criminals are held accountable.
• The province will be able to add more resources to the prosecution, public defense and the courts to ensure we can prosecute those 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, significantly increasing the 77 beds now available statewide.
• Snohomish County would establish a second community center like Carnegie, which has proven successful in helping people connect with services.
• The county would expand addiction treatment services in our jail.
• The province would set up programs to address graffiti, abandoned vehicles and other visible signs of the crisis.

Supporter 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 consequences of crime, gun violence and fentanyl addiction.

This is why we need to pass Prop 1 to improve staffing, response and treatment in Snohomish County.

While Snohomish County’s population has grown rapidly, the number of law enforcement officers has not
kept pace. Washington’s per capita workforce is actually the lowest in the US at 1.36 officers per thousand
residents, even though the county spends more than 75% of general funds on public safety agencies.

Young people are committing more and more serious crimes. Graffiti and abandoned vehicles are visible signs of crime
become too common. Understaffed agencies are less able to successfully prosecute criminals. Us too
missing tools for compassionate accountability.

Invest in proven solutions: more law enforcement and prosecutors; Proven crime and violence
reduction strategies; New, safe drug rehabilitation facility; New Graffiti Removal Programs; Extensive drug treatment; Programs to prevent youth violence.

Cost and Accountability: Prop 1 costs two cents per ten dollar purchase. That is less than a dollar per week or fifty dollars per year on average per resident. 100% of the money will be used for public safety, with 60% going to the province and 40% to the cities – and monitored to ensure accountability.

Your yes vote will improve safety and keep Snohomish County a great place to live.

Voter pamphlet statement from opponent for Prop 1

Snohomish County already has the highest sales tax 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 sales taxes will encourage shoppers to move to nearby counties with lower taxes, hurting local businesses. The people pushing for this tax say it is necessary to combat the drug crisis and improve public safety, but the real problem is the legislation pushed and passed by the Democratic Party that has made drug use more prevalent while the hands of our police are tied – causing more addicts, crime and problems in our communities. So instead of once again asking citizens to make sacrifices by providing even more hard-earned money, we should first focus on ending policies that make things worse.

Furthermore, we don’t need a sales tax increase to generate additional tax revenue and keep our communities safe – because as property values ​​rise and Snohomish County’s population increases, so does the money the county raises. That is, if we don’t make life here completely unaffordable.

This tax increase will not solve the real problems and will hit the people who can least afford it. Before they ask us for more, provincial officials need to look at their budgets, reconsider their priorities and reduce waste.

Vote No on the sales tax increase and tell our leaders to fix what’s broken instead of making us pay for it
mistakes.