Vote Yes on Proposition 1: Community Safety Sales Tax

Voting yes on Proposition 1 on the City of Spokane ballot creates a new one-tenth of one percent (.01%) sales tax for community safety enhancements, known as the Community Safety Proposal. The tax is expected to generate an estimated $7.7 million annually, with fifteen percent that will go to Spokane County and roughly $6.5 million that would be collected each year by the City of Spokane to fund new investments for Spokane Fire, Spokane Police, the Office of the Police Ombuds, and Spokane Municipal Court.

The Downtown Spokane Partnership endorses Proposition 1 as a critical funding mechanism for the Spokane Police Department to significantly increase the number of police officers assigned to the Downtown Precinct and keep our community safe.

The DSP’s support for Proposition 1 follows pledges to prioritize additional new police officers downtown and clarification from Spokane City Council to establish a dedicated Community Safety Fund to provide additional transparency and an automatic mechanism to sunset the tax on December 31, 2035, to add accountability. Further, Mayor Brown’s commitment to continue to work toward a regional public safety and health funding approach that will build a comprehensive 2/10th of a percent countywide public safety sales tax that can replace the city’s tax measure to maximize investments in public safety across Spokane County was critical to supporting Prop. 1 now.

More information about Prop. 1 is available here.
Proposition 1

Vote Yes on Measure 1: Renew the Juvenile Justice Sales Tax

Voting yes on Measure 1 renews the existing one-tenth of one percent (.01%) sales tax for Juvenile Detention Facilities and Jails that is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025. Funds from the tax renewal would be used solely for the purpose of providing funds for costs associated with operating, maintaining, repairing, equipping, re-equipping, financing and remodeling of juvenile detention facilities and jails.

The tax would extend 10 years through December 31, 2035 and Spokane County intends to continue using the funds for current operations required by state law. These funds will not be used to construct new facilities.

More information on Measure 1 is available here:
Measure 1

CASE NO. 102814-8: Jewels Helping Hands & Ben Stuckart v. Brian Hansen, City of Spokane, Spokane County, and Vicky Dalton

The DSP joined Greater Spokane Incorporated as amici to Brian Hansen, City of Spokane, Spokane County and Vicky Dalton in seeking dismissal of the appeal by Jewels Helping Hands and Ben Stuckart to overturn the 2023 City of Spokane voter initiative, Proposition 1, which would ban camping within 1000 feet of parks, schools and daycares in the city of Spokane.

Case scheduled for hearing on September 17, 2024.

Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief

Back to Public Safety