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Spokane resident urges county to adopt 0.1% sales-tax option to fund low-income housing
Summary
During the June 3 open public forum, Becky Duckerhoof urged Spokane County commissioners to enact a local sales-and-use tax (commonly called the 0.1% or "15/90" tax) under state statute to fund affordable housing construction and services, and cited regional housing-shortage data and inflationary pressures.
Becky Duckerhoof of Spokane addressed the Spokane County Board of Commissioners on June 3 urging enactment of a local sales-and-use tax option described in testimony as the "15/90 tax" and tied to state law RCW 82.14.530. "This ordinance ... allows the county legislative authority to impose a sales and use tax not to exceed one-tenth of one percent," Duckerhoof said, and she described the spending requirement she attributed to the statute: at least 60% of revenues must pay for construction of housing and related services, with the remainder for operations and delivery of housing-related services.
Duckerhoof presented data she said show continued need for affordable housing in Spokane County. She cited a regional need she said comes from the Washington State Department of Commerce: more than 26,000 low-income housing units are needed in the region over the next 20 years, while current production is roughly 200 units per year. She also noted rising construction costs "an average of 8% per year" and insurance increases exceeding 20% per year for low-income housing providers; she cited the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium director, Ben Stuckert, by name.
Duckerhoof warned that proposed cuts in the U.S. Senate fiscal 2025 budget could further reduce federal support for affordable-housing and homelessness programs. "I fear we have not seen the peak of the homelessness crisis in Spokane County," she said, and asked commissioners to consider local revenue options to increase housing supply.
Her remarks were made during the meeting's open public forum; commissioners did not take action on the tax proposal during the session. Duckerhoof's testimony is a request to the board to consider available state-authorized local-tax mechanisms and to prioritize affordable-housing funding.
