BENTON COUNTY, Wash.- According to the Benton County Board of Commissioners, in 2014, Benton County voters approved a 0.3% sales and use tax to fund public safety needs in the county.
That original sales tax expires at the end of next year, so Proposition No. 1 would make that sales tax permanent.
The current safety sales tax generates approximately $17 million in revenue each year to support criminal justice needs in Benton County. Some of the funding would include adding 120 public safety positions and adding community-based programs aimed at preventing kids from getting involved in crime, according to the proposition.
The Citizens for a Safer Benton County group is pro-Proposition No. 1.
“It represents today for example 50 some officers in uniform and then 60 support. Courts, court support people, drug court, veterans court, all the people who fulfill those roles in those successful organizations,” Campaign Chair, Citizens for a Safer Benton County, Eric Van Winkle.
The Columbia Basin Badger club had a debate where the Secretary of We Want Accountability P.A.C., Jerry Martin took the side of the opposition.
“Approximately $2.4 million was allocated to these additional organizations. The size of the unspent reserve suggests that the 0.3% tax rate was too high, and maybe 0.2% was enough.
In the upcoming election, if this proposition is approved it will continue with the sales and use tax of 3/10 of one percent or 30 cents on a $100 purchase. If it is rejected, the tax will expire December 31, 2024.
For more information on Proposition No. 1, here is the Benton County Voters’ Pamphlet.
