(The Center Square) – Officials from across Spokane announced an upcoming tax proposal on Tuesday that could fund the construction of a new jail after voters rejected another $1.7 billion bid in 2023.
The press conference featured elected officials from across the region, including Mayor Lisa Brown and Sheriff John Nowels, who highlighted the bipartisan initiative. Murmurs of the Safe & Healthy Spokane Task Force began to emerge in May, but that appeared to die out shortly after amid regional conflicts.
Barry Barfield, an administrator of the Spokane Homeless Coalition, told The Center Square last month that the idea “was on life support” even before the city sent the county a $57 million tax bill. However, those talks continued behind the scenes with groups like the Downtown Spokane Partnership, or DSP.
The Spokane City Council, Board of County Commissioners, Greater Spokane Inc., Providence, Waters Meet Foundation and other private partners all joined the DSP on Tuesday to make it official this time.
The new task force will begin hosting public meetings on Thursday, with an action plan anticipated by this spring. That will likely include a costly tax proposal that could fund a new jail and other facilities.
“The work of the task force will not just be another study, another report, something that gathers dust on a shelf,” DSP President and CEO Emilie Cameron said. “This is a commitment to action informed by diverse perspectives and backed by the resolve of leaders who know the cost of doing nothing.”
Spokane County has two dilapidated jails, but the region primarily relies on the downtown facility that frequently enters a “red-light status.” That means law enforcement can’t process new inmates due to a lack of space, understaffing or other factors, though more than 100 beds have been open for weeks.
Meanwhile, the region is grappling with an opioid and homelessness crisis, with approximately 1,800 people lacking a place to call home as fentanyl deaths skyrocket. While Brown and the city council’s progressive majority argue that more shelters and services are the answer, others want a new jail.
Brown was on the campaign trail in 2023 when voters rejected the last jail proposal. She declined to support the measure, which many critics attributed to its failure. Last October, Brown told The Center Square that any plan would need to bolster behavioral health services to receive her endorsement.
“This task force — that table bringing together those diverse voices, from law enforcement to health care providers to those with those lived experiences — this is the way to find a path forward,” GSI Board Chair Charlotte Nemec said. “No single organization or jurisdiction can take this on alone.”
According to a press release, the regional task force will focus on expanding intervention programs, modernizing facilities, coordinating investments and offering policy and funding recommendations.
The group will include health experts, representatives from the business community, judicial and law enforcement officials, nonprofit organizations, financial experts, labor representatives, and others. The 33 members will now meet monthly until presenting a proposal to each municipality by late spring.
The last proposal would’ve imposed a countywide two-tenths of 1% sales tax increase, which would’ve cost residents $2 for every $1,000 spent at the register. If approved, it would’ve generated about $1.7 billion over 30 years, hundreds of millions of dollars more than it would cost to build a new jail.
Brown proposed her own sales tax hike last year, which voters passed in November, to help close the city’s $25 million budget deficit. Councilmember Jonathan Bingle debated her over the need for a new jail at the time, noting the importance of passing a measure soon since it could take a decade to build.
“As somebody who supported Measure 1 two years ago, we can’t repeat Measure 1,” Councilmember Michael Cartcart said. “We’re going to find opportunities for not just the facility, a jail facility, mental health and drug treatment type options, but ways to improve the criminal justice system overall that will be cost-effective for the city, for the county, for neighboring jurisdictions, and also help speed up justice.”
