(The Center Square) – The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s ongoing staffing shortage has some county leaders considering a sales tax to provide more revenue for the department.
As of July 18, the department has 25 vacant positions and is operating at a deficit of 47 positions throughout the department as a whole, according to PCSO Bureau Chief of Operations Rusty Wilder.
Wilder presented a department update to the Pierce County Public Safety Committee on Monday. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office patrols about 86% of the 1,808 total square miles in the region, including unincorporated areas of the county where there are a total of 13 deputies and one sergeant patrol some 400,000 residents.
Wilder pointed out that the department’s District 7 in the county’s central area. This district is the most populated out of the department’s 12 districts, with 62,739 residents. With the current staffing shortage, there is only one officer covering the area during dayshifts and swing shifts, according to Wilder.
Despite the staffing shortage, District 1-7 proactive patrols have seen a 30% increase in warrant arrests through the first six months of 2025, compared to the same time last year. Most violent and property offenses are down for the first half of 2025 compared to last year as well.
“I’m very proud that even with the low staffing numbers, our deputies are continuing to be proactive in what they do,” Wilder told the committee.
However, murders went up from three in six months last year to five so far in 2025.
Pierce County Councilmember Jani Hitchen said the sheriff’s office staffing levels are complicated because the department tries to provide policing at a city-like level with county resources.
“We don’t have some of the resources of county governments to bring in revenue that these cities do have,” Hitchen said.
Hitchen mentioned a potential 0.1% – or 10 cents per $100 spent – sales and use tax, which was authorized by House Bill 2015, which state legislators approved and Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law in May. Revenue must go toward public safety initiatives.
Earlier this month, the King County Council approved the sales tax to fund public safety programs and its sheriff’s department.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is anticipating more recruits to start work within this year. Wilder told the Public Safety Committee that he is expecting seven to eight new recruits to be ready by the end of July, with five or six ready by fall.
