(The Center Square) – The King County Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday to approve a new sales tax that broadly goes toward public safety programs, despite concerns about approving another regressive tax without a defined spending plan.
The newly-approved 0.1% – or 10 cents per $100 spent – sales and use tax was authorized by House Bill 2015, which state legislators approved and Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law in May.
King County is facing a general fund deficit of $180 million in the upcoming 2026-27 budget cycle. The proposed tax’s annual $95 million in revenue is anticipated to be sufficient to offset the deficit over the next two years, as nearly 75% of the county’s general fund is dedicated to public safety and the criminal legal system, according to King County Executive Shannon Braddock.
In a statement, Braddock said the sales tax will help prevent deep cuts across the county budget and protect core services.
Prior to the council’s vote, King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski called the sales tax “affordable,” and said that it is necessary to provide funding for law enforcement in unincorporated King County. This comes amid a target reduction of $30.2 million from the King County Sheriff’s Office that could result in a minimal law enforcement presence in unincorporated parts of the county. The sales tax intends to avoid those cuts.
“Without these dollars, we’re going to be cutting patrol services in the unincorporated area, we’re going to be cutting prosecutors … there is not an alternative,” Dembowski said during Tuesday’s King County Council meeting. “I know we don’t like taxes, but this is a dime on a $100 taxable purchase, we don’t tax your rent, medicine [or] food.”
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci said the county is preliminarily set to spend all of the expected revenue from the sales tax, but that if state legislators do not find long-term solutions, the county will face budget shortfalls again.
“This only fills the budget gap for I think the next biennium [and] barely into the biennium after that and then we will be right back to shortfalls again,” Balducci said.
Reagan Dunn, the lone no vote on the sales tax, called out the county for raising taxes on residents by more than 40% over the last 10 years.
Dunn also noted that there is not a plan set out for how generated revenue will be used, despite the tax being approved by the county council.
“Folks want [the sales tax] to be used for housing, human services, and more diversion and restorative pathways. We already have dedicated services for those and this sales tax is expansive in its use,” Dunn said. “It’s going to be decided later what exactly specific programs this goes for.”
Braddock’s Press Secretary Amy Enbysk told The Center Square that the spending plan is determined as part of the budget process and will be included in transmittal in September for council consideration and approval.
King County has five taxes up for voter approval this year alone, including a 23% increase in its Parks Levy that is on the upcoming August ballot.
