The Renton City Council at its October 2025 meeting voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance authorizing an additional one‑tenth of 1% sales and use tax for criminal justice purposes, a measure the city said will fund new public‑safety staff and related needs.

The ordinance amends sections 5.10.1 and 5.10.2 of the Renton Municipal Code to authorize the additional tax “in accordance with section 201, chapter 350, laws of 2025,” and takes effect as provided in the ordinance. Council members cast an all‑aye roll call for second and final reading.

Why it matters: Council members and staff said the new revenue will pay for five new public‑safety positions; during debate members also raised concerns about broader budget choices, including whether to keep the city‑run electronic home detention (EHD) program or contract that service to a private provider.

Discussion and details: A council member, speaking as chair of the public safety committee, said the package would fund “five new critical positions, 3 for a ... assault unit and 2 for our drone unit,” and urged caution about simultaneously eliminating the city’s electronic home detention program in the upcoming mid‑biennial budget. The council member said removing an in‑house monitoring option that some described as cost‑effective could be “fiscally and publicly irresponsible” if alternatives reduced accountability or increased long‑term incarceration costs.

Chief John Scholl of the Renton Police Department said, “Currently, electronic home detention is an in house program, that's under the guise of the police department,” and explained courts sometimes use outside vendors in addition to the city program.

City staff (identified in the meeting as Carrie) told the council the EHD program has operated at a deficit and “has cost the city close to ... $2,000,000 over the last seven years,” prompting staff to recommend evaluating outsourcing to external providers that offer similar monitoring services. Council members pressed staff for more fiscal detail and noted that a final decision on program structure would be considered at the Committee of the Whole during the mid‑biennial budget presentation scheduled next week.

Several council members said they supported the sales‑tax ordinance while urging staff to weigh transparency, accountability and operational impacts before changing how electronic monitoring is provided. One council member, drawing on experience with electronic monitoring, warned that outsourcing can reduce transparency and create access barriers for people under court orders.

What the council decided: The ordinance authorizing an additional 0.1% sales and use tax for criminal justice purposes was adopted on second and final reading by unanimous roll call. Council members and staff agreed the mid‑biennial budget process and an upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting are the appropriate venues to decide whether the city will continue operating EHD in house or transition to a private provider.

Next steps: Staff will include electronic home detention options, costs, and recommendations in the mid‑biennial budget presentation at the Committee of the Whole next week; no final decision to dissolve or to outsource the city EHD program was made at this meeting.