Clark County staff describe mental health sales tax process; advisory board did not recommend funding for Vancouver bridge shelter in 2025 cycle

Clark County staff provided a detailed briefing on the county’s mental health sales tax funding process and the advisory board review timeline, and said the board did not recommend the City of Vancouver’s bridge shelter application in this funding cycle because the application lacked sufficient operational detail.

Jordan Bogie, senior policy analyst supporting the county council and manager’s office, told the Community Action Advisory Board the sales tax — commonly called the mental health sales tax — is authorized by the state and administered locally under the requirements of RCW 82.14.460. The tax is a one-tenth percent (0.1%) countywide sales-and-use tax that can fund “new and expanded” mental-health, chemical-dependency and therapeutic-court services and certain capital needs that support those services.

Bogie said the county uses the sales tax for both internal government programs (public health, courts, jail treatment services and other…