Proposition 1: Sales tax increase would help cut cycle of crime, boost safety in Thurston County

County official says no revenue from tax would be spent on new jail
Keri Brenner
The Olympian

OLYMPIA — The 30-something inmate washing cars at the Thurston County jail looked familiar, Sheriff Dan Kimball said.

Then it hit him. It was the same guy Kimball had arrested years ago, when the inmate was 14.

"I remembered he came from a single-parent household, and the one parent was an alcoholic," Kimball recalled. "The kid was a high school dropout."

The memory strengthened Kimball's belief that the cycle of crime, addiction, illiteracy and despair has to be broken before more generations of young people get caught in a downward path.

"I couldn't help thinking that if we don't do something, pretty soon I'm going to be seeing the grandchildren of offenders coming through," he said.

Kimball last week joined Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Holm, former county Sheriff Gary Edwards and former County Commissioner Dick Nichols in a pitch for Proposition 1, the countywide sales tax increase measure on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

There appears to be little if any organized opposition to Proposition 1.

The measure would raise the tax 0.3 cents, from 8.4 cents to 8.7 cents per $1 spent in the county.

Of the $10 million to $12 million raised annually by the tax increase, about two-thirds would go toward early childhood intervention programs. The rest would go to public safety and criminal justice projects.

Kimball and the other officials made their pitch before about a dozen 4-year-olds at the Olympia Child Care Center, one of the early intervention programs that could benefit from some of the revenue.

"There's a direct correlation between early learning and crime prevention," Kimball noted. "Between 60 and 70 percent of Thurston County jail inmates don't have a high school diploma or GED" high school equivalency certificate.

If the measure is approved, Thurston would become the first county in the state to allocate a portion of sales tax specifically for childhood intervention to fight crime, said Laura Wells of the statewide law-enforcement-led nonprofit organization "Fight Crime, Invest in Kids."

Next page >>

Children at Risk

•Thurston County population in 2005: 224,100

•Children younger than 5: 13,075

•Children receiving state child care subsidies: 2,093

•Head Start centers for early childhood education: 13 with 448 spaces.

•Children younger than 5 living in poverty: 1,569

Proposition 1

•Sales tax increase: Would raise sales tax by less than a third of a penny, or 0.3 of a cent. Sales tax would rise from 8.4 cents to 8.7 cents per $1 spent.

•Total annual revenue: $10 million to $12 million

•Portion for early childhood and youth intervention programs: Two-thirds, or about $6.5 million to $7 million.

•Portion for criminal justice projects: One-third, or about $3.5 million to $4 million.

Radio ad mix up

Radio ads opposing Proposition 1 in King County, such as a recent one sponsored by the Sierra Club, have nothing to do with Proposition 1 in Thurston County. The King County measure relates to transportation, while the Thurston County one relates to crime prevention and early childhood and youth intervention programs.
Pro-Con on Proposition 1

1. CON: Vagueness of how crime prevention money would be spent. Too much room for money to be wasted. Lack of accountability.

PRO: Only programs that have been proved to positively affect childhood development will be given money. Specific programs have not been identified to give flexibility to committee that would administer the budget. Finances will be reviewed at least every five years. After 20 years, voters would have to reauthorize measure.

2. CON: Back-door way to finance new county jail in Tumwater.

PRO: New jail construction will be financed by special "detention" sales tax, not Proposition 1. County's share of criminal justice portion of Proposition 1 (about $2 million) would go to drug court, mental health court, prosecutor's office and public safety programs. The staff for new jail will be hired using revenue from a change in sales tax distribution approved by Legislature last session.

3. CON: County already has many services to help children and families. Creates redundant bureaucracy.

PRO: Voters rejected a jail-only measure in 2004, demanding more prevention options. Proposition 1 provides those options and will result in fewer offenders and smaller jails. It focuses on early prevention while cutting repeat offenses through adult jail diversion programs, such as drug court.

Economics of crime

•Cost per day to house a jail inmate: $73

•Portion of county budget that pays for criminal justice system: 75 percent

•Increase in county jail population in past 10 years: 110 percent

•Increase in general county population in past 10 years: 25 percent

Distribution of potential revenue

•Total revenue: $10 million to $12 million annually

•Crime prevention, early childhood intervention: $6.5 million to $7 million, pooled countywide

•Criminal justice, public safety: $3.5 million to $4 million total, split among cities and county

•Thurston County: $2 million

•Olympia: $590,000

•Lacey: $440,000

•Tumwater: $180,000

•Yelm: $60,000

•Tenino: $20,000

•Rainier: $20,000

•Bucoda: $10,000

MOST VIEWED ARTICLES

Join the Reader Network
Do you want The Olympian to keep you in mind when we canvass the community for opinions?
Click here and sign up with our Reader Network to offer your view.