Spokane resident urges county to adopt 0.1% sales tax under RCW 82.14.530 to fund housing, cites Miami‑Dade criminal‑mental‑health model

A Spokane resident urged the Spokane County Board of County Commissioners to enact a one‑tenth‑percent sales and use tax under state law to finance housing construction and related services for people experiencing homelessness, citing a criminal‑mental‑health diversion model used in Miami‑Dade County.

Becky Dickerhoof told the board during the open public forum that attendees of a presentation by Judge Steven Leifman learned there are “25 times as many people with mental illnesses in correctional facilities as there are in all civil state treatment facilities combined.” She described outcomes from the criminal‑mental‑health project in Dade County, saying the program reduced the jail population and saved taxpayers money. “The criminal mental health project Judge Leifman pioneered resulted in the Dade County Jail experiencing a 39% reduction in the average daily census and allowed for the closing of 1 entire jail facility, saving taxpayers $12,000,000 per year,” she said.

Dickerhoof asked the commissioners to enact what she called the “15‑90 tax,” referencing state law she identified as RCW 82.14.530, which she said allows a county legislative authority to impose a sales and use tax not to exceed one‑tenth of 1% and that by statute at least 60% of revenue must be used for housing construction while the remainder may support operations and related services. “This will allow the county to create more homes for the unsheltered,” she said.

She also described program elements she said contributed to successful community reentry in Dade County, including a bridal (sic) intervention team program and a model she identified as SOAR that, she said, “provides a steady income and health care coverage, which enables individuals to access basic needs, including housing, food, medical care, and psychiatric treatment.” Dickerhoof attributed declines in recidivism in Dade County from roughly 75% to about 20% annually to the program’s services.

Commissioners did not take action on her request during the meeting; the testimony was part of the open public forum and no vote or staff directive on a county sales tax measure was recorded in the meeting minutes. The statements and statistics above are Dickerhoof’s representations to the board during public comment; the record does not include county staff verification of the figures or a formal proposal tied to the RCW citation.