Westcom asks College Place to back August ballot measure to fund 9-1-1 upgrades

Westcom manager Esther Click told the College Place City Council on June 24 that the Walla Walla County 9-1-1 center has reached a funding and infrastructure tipping point and will ask voters on Aug. 5 to approve a local sales and use tax to sustain operations.

Click said the center’s current budget of about $2.6 million—largely funded by user fees and a small share of state phone excise tax revenue—cannot reliably cover aging radio equipment, outdated computers and staffing needs. “This will be on the August 5 ballot,” Click said, adding the tax is proposed under state law (RCW 82.14) as a local sales-and-use option for 9-1-1.

Why it matters: Westcom provides 24/7 emergency-answering and dispatch services for Walla Walla County including College Place. Click said the center answered about 83,000 calls in 2024 and created 57,378 calls-for-service; staffing and technology have not been modernized since 1997, she said. Click argued a modest sales/use tax would spread the burden to visitors and customers of prepared foods, retail and other taxed purchases while protecting groceries, prescriptions and fuel.

Key facts and council questions

Click outlined the current funding mix: roughly $1.9 million in user fees billed to public-safety partners, about $500,000 from a state phone-excise allocation (70 cents per line), and restricted e9-1-1 grants that cannot be used for radio systems. She said a 0.2% sales/use tax applied to taxable retail purchases would have generated roughly $3.36 million in a recent year under county sales volumes, which would exceed the center’s present operating budget and could allow Westcom to reduce or eliminate partner user fees.

Council members asked how the money would be controlled and who would set Westcom’s budget. Click said the countywide executive committee established in the Westcom interlocal agreement would oversee major expenditures, approve budgets and audit use of the tax proceeds. “The executive committee … are the ones that approve my user fees when I make them increase,” she said.

Police Chief Tamara told council the equipment is so badly worn that staff keep systems “together with bubblegum and duct tape,” called the ballot measure a “need” rather than a want, and said savings could be redeployed into police staffing if user fees are eliminated.

What would be taxed and exemptions

Click said typical grocery items and prescriptions would remain exempt; the tax would apply to tangible personal property and prepared foods, convenience purchases, clothing and similar taxable retail transactions. She stressed the proposal is not a property tax or a fuel tax.

Next steps and oversight

Click said the ballot measure would appear on the Aug. 5 ballot and provided a QR code and landing page for more information and contact details. Audience members and a council member noted legal limits on using public resources to influence ballot measures and suggested formal council support should be coordinated with the city attorney to avoid public disclosure commission issues. Click and council members said any eventual shift from user-fee billing to sales-tax funding would be reviewed and approved by the Westcom executive committee.

Community reaction and context

Council members who asked questions expressed general support and said they would consider ways to assist, such as drafting a council resolution of support if legal constraints allow. Click said her goal is to reach a funding level that keeps Westcom self-sustaining and allows the city partners to reduce or eliminate annual user fees.

Evidence: presentation and Q&A by Esther Click, Westcom manager; comments from College Place council members and Chief Tamara.