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Staff briefs council on House Bill 2015: 0.1% councilmanic public-safety sales tax and $100M grant program
Summary
City staff explained new authority under House Bill 2015 for cities to enact a 0.1% councilmanic sales tax for public safety and a related $100 million grant program that can offset hiring costs for officers. Staff recommended starting the 45-day CJTC eligibility clock early and said grants require the city to levy the tax before applying.
City of Olympia staff updated council on House Bill 2015, a legislative change that allows jurisdictions to levy a councilmanic 0.1% local sales tax for broad public safety and criminal justice needs and that established a separate $100 million grant program to assist jurisdictions with hiring and training personnel.
Finance Director Mike Giffins summarized the package and the mechanics: if enacted locally, the added 0.1% would increase Olympia's combined sales-and-use tax rate from 9.8% to 9.9%, and unlike some sales taxes that are shared, the additional tenth would be retained entirely by the jurisdiction that levies it. "It completely comes to Olympia," Giffins said. City Manager Bernie and staff explained that the city would not need to wait for county action and that the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) will evaluate whether a jurisdiction meets training and program standards. CJTC has 45 days after levy enactment to determine eligibility; if the jurisdiction is not initially eligible, CJTC must specify deficiencies and the jurisdiction will have six months to correct them and resubmit.
The $100 million grant program and eligibility Council members asked whether the grants are restricted to sworn officers. Staff explained the grant program prioritizes law enforcement hiring and training and can cover a portion of salary costs for new hires: the grant can offset up to 75% of a hire's salary with a cap noted in the briefing (staff cited a $125,000 per position limit over the three-year grant period in examples). Staff emphasized an important sequencing rule: jurisdictions must enact the councilmanic 0.1% tax to be eligible to request grant funds; the grant program is effectively first-come, first-served and expires in June 2028.
Uses and local choices Staff noted the 0.1% tax is broad in allowable uses: police and fire, alternative response teams, homeless response and other public-safety-related expenditures could be supported. Several council members expressed interest in directing a portion of funds to co-responder teams for behavioral-health or basic-life-support work, and staff said they will evaluate which departments and positions would best match the grant and levy structure. Staff also said some portion of the funds could be reinvested in non-police public-safety alternatives depending on council direction.
Timing and fiscal assumptions City Manager Bernie recommended beginning the CJTC 45-day eligibility process early so the city can know whether it meets criteria before final budget decisions later this year; staff warned that revenues in year one should be conservatively forecasted because implementation timing and Department of Revenue notification windows can delay when revenue is actually received.
What staff will return with Staff said they will come back within roughly 30'1 days with a proposal that identifies candidate positions (police, fire, co-responder types), estimated first-year revenue under the 0.1% tax, an approach to conservative first-year budgeting, and an assessment of eligibility against CJTC criteria. Staff also flagged that King County has already enacted this tax and is pending CJTC review; that underscores the competitive nature of the $100 million grant program for jurisdictions that apply early.
