Thurston County Auditor raises concerns about how Public Safety sales tax money may be budgeted
Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall has raised concerns about a Sheriff’s Office plan to mix Public Safety Sales Tax and general fund money.
The plan is to take the amount of general fund money budgeted for Sheriff’s Office law enforcement and move it into a Public Safety Sales Tax fund, Budget and Fiscal Manager Summer Miller told the Board of County Commissioners Wednesday.
The Public Safety Sales Tax is a 0.2% sales tax that primarily supports law enforcement. Voters approved the tax in the 2023 general election.
Pooling money into a single fund would give the Sheriff’s Office more flexibility to use available money, but it may make it harder to track what the designated funds from the sales tax have been spent on.
Though the plan may be allowable, Hall said she did not recommend it because she sees it creating budgeting and transparency problems for the county.
“It’s going to be very difficult to sort these out from a financial report standpoint,” Hall told the board. “I mean, we still have to report them separately.”
When reached for comment, Hall said the county typically keeps the money from specific taxes in their own dedicated funds. That arrangement makes it easier for the state to audit the county’s expenditures.
“My role is to recommend strong financial practices for the county to keep us free of audit findings,” Hall said. “If we continue to get audit findings, it’s going to become increasingly more expensive for the county to borrow money.”
Sorting out what was spent on what will create more work for financial staff, Hall said. Additionally, she said the plan may affect the public’s trust in the county.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult for the public to understand what is being spent where,” Hall told the board. “And just mingling these funds gives the perception of supplanting.”
The board-approved resolution that put the sales tax on the 2023 ballot states “all money received shall not be used to supplant funding for any ongoing services and/or programs.”
That clause was included to ensure the dedicated sales tax money is extra, and is not used to replace the amount of money already being budgeted in 2023.
What the sheriff thinks
Sheriff Derek Sanders opted for the one fund plan after meeting with Hall and county budget staff last week.
Sanders told the board the sales tax does not have enough money to support existing staff and his office still has to make general fund requests.
Though the funds would be mixed under the new plan, Sanders said his office intends to keep tracking the money separately.
“That way we can report back to the public to say, ‘Hey, listen, you guys approved a tax in 2023. Here’s what it bought you. It bought you 27 deputies. It bought you a building so you no longer have to lease space. Those kinds of things.’”
Sanders said he requested $300,000 from the general fund last year for staff overtime costs. He said that request was approved through the Public Safety Sales Tax. Without that, he said he would be $300,000 in the hole.
“The conversations are already being had about commingling funds and using joint efforts to make the operation work,” Sanders told the board.
Getting out of that hole without the sales tax would require lowering staffing levels to keep overtime costs under control, Sanders said.
“I think we’re all kind of stuck in a spot right now of, like, we’ve already crossed this bridge and how are we going to move forward with it?” Sanders said.
Sanders agreed two separate funds would be ideal, but that would mean his office would have to make more general fund requests.
“Overtime is never going to get cheaper than it was this year,” Sanders said. “The wages are never going to be lower than they were this year and the training that the state is sending down that’s mandated and unfunded is not getting any less.”
The board directed the County Manager, the Auditor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to reconvene to hash out a compromise. They have to find a solution before the end of the year when budget decisions are finalized.
Hall said her office did not have enough time to discuss the matter beforehand with the Sheriff’s Office and county staff. When asked if this caused he frustration, Hall said “that’s absolutely correct.”
“We are all very busy right now,” Hall said. “I understand that, but we have to carve out the time where it’s a discussion involving everyone.”
Hall said her financial team may still be able to reach a solution that provides the Sheriff’s Office with the flexibility Sanders wants while keeping the money separate for reporting purposes.
“I’m accountable to the public to ensure that county funds are spent appropriately and in the taxpayers’ best interest,” Hall said. “I take that role very seriously.”
How the sales tax works
Revenue from the Public Safety Tax is divided into two funds at the county: one labeled “law” and another labeled “justice,” the budget shows.
The county set up the tax so 75% of the money it retains would fund law enforcement services and infrastructure and 25% would fund additional prosecution and public defense services as well as elections security infrastructure.
The county expects the law fund to collect a total of about $3.8 million in 2024 and $6.6 million in 2025, according to the budget. Meanwhile, the justice fund is expected to collect about $1.3 million in 2024 and $2.2 million in 2025.
The county has received nearly $3 million in revenue from the Public Safety Sales Tax for the Sheriff’s Office from June to October, according to data shared by Heidi Thomsen, chief of the Sheriff’s Office Financial Services Bureau.
The data shows the Sheriff’s Office had spent about $1.3 million through Nov. 13, including:
- $1,216,951 was spent on vehicles for new positions. That includes $854,900 for vehicles, $113,051 for camera systems, $183,000 for radio systems and $66,000 for mobile computer terminals.
- $124,528 has been spent for salaries and benefits for one new support position and all new commissioned positions filled to date.
- $15,787 has been spent for weapons and rifles for new deputies.
