(The Center Square) – Spokane County is preparing to establish a regional task force over the coming weeks to develop a tax proposal to fund a new jail after the last push fell short in 2023.
The Board of County Commissioners and the Spokane Valley City Council both discussed the initiative during separate meetings on Tuesday. Commissioner Chris Jordan said the city of Spokane may bring it to a vote in the next few weeks, highlighting the regional collaboration.
A trip to Whatcom County last June inspired the push after that area passed a tax to fund a new jail after two failed attempts. The county formed a task force, much like Spokane is now proposing, to expand and improve its detention facilities and criminal justice programs.
“You got to put everything on the table,” Emilie Cameron, president of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, told the commissioners on Tuesday, “and you’ve got to bring everyone to the table.”
Cameron and other regional leaders, such as Gavin Cooley, director of strategic initiatives for the Spokane Business Association; Stacey Cowles, president of the media group Cowles Company, and Zeke Smith, president of the Empire Health Foundation, sent a letter in support last week.
Another 15 leaders representing organizations from each jurisdiction also signed on in support.
“We strongly support the task force’s mission to develop a regional vision and actionable plan that addresses intersecting challenges in behavioral health, criminal justice, emergency response, and public safety,” the leaders wrote, “expanding intervention programs, modernizing facilities, coordinating investments, and recommending policy and funding solutions.”
Sheriff John Nowels attributed the failure of the 2023 proposal to poor outreach. He said many people didn’t understand the details, so leveraging a regional campaign through the task force could prove effective. The county hopes to put a tax up for a vote in about a year or more.
If successful, it could take the county another five to 10 years to build a new jail. The current facility downtown regularly enters a red light status due to a lack of capacity. The issue forces officers to let their suspect loose or wait hours for the jail to release another inmate.
The 2023 proposal could’ve generated $1.7 billion over 30 years, but 63% of voters said no to the sales tax hike. If approved, the 0.2% sales tax would have cost consumers 2 cents for every $10 spent.
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown opposed the initiative during the 2023 campaign.
“It was pretty clear to me: The city and the county needed to come together, put a plan forward together and stand up together on board with that,” Brown told The Center Square at the time. “I had no ability to do that as a candidate, but the previous administration absolutely failed to.”
Many people criticized the proposal since only a portion of the revenue would cover a new jail, with the county retaining the rest. Brown also wanted to address regional needs, which this new approach can achieve through the Safe & Healthy Spokane Task Force.
According to a county document, a planning team includes Brown, Nowels, Cameron, Smith, some commissioners and others from the Spokane and Spokane Valley city councils.
“What makes this so interesting to me is it’s actually going to take subject matter experts and have them come together and talk about things that can be done,” Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley said Tuesday, “and most importantly, things that can be done now, not years from now.”
