(The Center Square) – Auburn is the latest Washington state city to take advantage of a new state law allowing cities and counties to implement a 0.1% sales and use tax for criminal justice purposes without a voter-approved referendum.
During a Monday night meeting, members of the Auburn City Council unanimously approved the tax hike as an additional source of funding to address public safety needs.
During the 2025 legislative session, majority party Democrats expanded the traditional meaning of public safety, to allow cities to apply the one-tenth of 1% sales and use tax a wide variety of community safety concerns including domestic violence services, public defenders, diversion programs, behavioral health, mental health services and much more.
It also establishes a $100 million grant program for local and tribal law enforcement agencies, with funding available for both traditional law enforcement roles and broader initiatives like behavioral health co-responders.
As reported by The Center Square, minority party Republicans for the most part did not support the bill as passed, arguing that smaller cities should be exempted from the requirement to implement the sales tax before accessing the grants.
“The smaller a municipality gets, the less money they will actually be able to collect from a tenth of a percent sales tax,” said Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, during floor debate on the bill during session. “They won’t raise enough money to really do anything or make a difference in improving public safety.”
Edmonds was one of the first cities to announce that it would take advantage of the sales tax option for public safety.
Other large cities, including Yakima, put their own public safety proposals on the ballot earlier this month.
As reported by The Center Square, voters in Yakima rejected a tax increase that would have increased public safety funding.
Auburn’s Ordinance 7008 will take effect April 1, 2026.
According to NextDoor.com, Auburn has a significantly higher overall crime rate (69.43) compared to the national average (33.37), with both violent and property crime rates also exceeding national averages.
During Monday night’s city council meeting, council members expressed support for the tax, while acknowledging many families are struggling and even a small tax increase is a burden.
“I’ve thought about this one really a long time… There are people out there that watch every penny that they spend and there are some people that are barely making it so I was really going to vote no until I sat down and I read the whole thing again,” said Councilmember Yolanda Trout-Manuel. “We’re going to support a lot of the items that we need. Our police department and public safety will be able to help us in the long run. So, I’m going to say yes. I agree.”
Councilmember Tracy Taylor-Turner also voiced support for the tax increase.
“Where our community has spoken loud and clear over the years with our community meetings [is] saying that public safety is the top issue,” Taylor said. “I mean it’s a penny on a $10 purchase. So, I look at it as a win for not only our police department, but for our community as a whole.”
According to a Tuesday email from Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, the additional revenue will be used for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026 for the following:
The new state law allows grant opportunities for the hiring and retention of police officers but covers only three-quarters of an officer’s salary up to $125,000 per year. The city would have to come up with the remaining portion of salary and benefits.
The city could still pursue grant funding, once the additional sales and use tax hike is implemented.
The Center Square reached out to the Auburn Police Department for comment but did not receive a response.
