(The Center Square) – To build or not to build a new jail in Spokane County. That is the question that will be put to voters this November.
Debate continues over Measure 1, which would increase sales taxes by 0.2% over 30 years. That would generate $1.7 billion to improve criminal justice programs and build a new jail in downtown Spokane.
The ballot measure has generated both support and pushback.
“We’ve already started to hear a lot in this community about what Measure 1 is and what it isn’t,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a press conference this week. “Measure 1 is providing the citizens of Spokane, and the voters of Spokane [the opportunity] to decide what public safety looks like in Spokane County for the next 30 years.”
Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney addressed what those next three decades will look like in terms of population.
“We have a growing population. Any time we have population growth, we know that we need critical new infrastructure to keep up with that,” she said at the press conference, mentioning schools, roads, bridges and firehouses, before circling back to population growth.
Kuney was backed by a graphic showing that in 1986 when the current jail was built, Spokane County was home to some 350,000 individuals. The county’s current population is 550,000, and by 2053 that number is projected to grow to 683,000.
Nowles said the county’s population growth is reflected in the number of inmates
“Our jail population today is 872 inmates [as of] this morning” he explained. “The capacity for the Spokane County jail was designed to be 462 forty years ago. Today, there were 675 people in the Spokane County Jail in the downtown facility, and there were 171 people in [the Geiger Corrections Center.]”
“Measure 1 is far more than just a correctional facility,” Nowels added.
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward agreed.
“It’s really about accountability. It’s about a facility that has the programs in it, because we need to have a holistic and rehabilitative approach,” she said at the press conference, before noting that the Spokane County Jail is the only such facility in the state that has a licensed mental health program.
Not everyone supports the measure.
Mayoral candidate Lisa Brown spoke about why she is against Measure 1.
“I oppose this measure. The $1.7 billion in taxes Mayor Woodward is seeking represents one of the largest tax increases ever in Spokane County. We need investments in public safety and improvements in our correctional facilities, but this measure deserves more public input and a coordinated plan between Spokane County and the City of Spokane on how these funds would be spent,” Brown emailed The Center Square.
County Commissioners Chris Jordan and Amber Waldref are also opposed to putting the measure on the ballot at this time, she added.
They’re not the only ones.
“While we can all agree that we need to continue to invest in public safety and that the current Spokane County Detention Services Jail and the Geiger Corrections Center are inadequate, we are respectfully requesting a deferral in order to have a better plan put into place through collaboration and discussion between the cities and the county,” Spokane City Councilmember Zack Zappone said in a joint statement along with Spokane City Council President Lori Kinnear.
Local 492, the union that represents the Spokane County correctional officers, also issued a statement on Measure 1.
“We support the delay of the upcoming Jail Ballot Measure because it would give us important time to make sure we get this important measure passed,” said staff representative Scott Davies on behalf of the union. “If we don’t delay it, this measure might not pass.”
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Department want the public to educate itself on the issue.
“We will not, nor can we, as an agency, tell you how to vote,” the agency said in a Friday posting on Spokane County’s website. “However, we can provide information and urge you to learn about the proposal.”
