Skagit County held a public hearing on Oct. 28 to consider establishing Chapter 3.15 of Skagit County Code to authorize a one‑tenth‑of‑one‑percent (0.1%) local sales and use tax for qualified criminal justice purposes under House Bill 2015. Deputy County Administrator Jennifer Johnson opened the hearing and Chief Criminal Deputy Tobin Meyer summarized statutory verification requirements and allowable uses under the legislation.

Meyer told the board the bill authorizes counties to impose a 0.1% tax and directs oversight and verification by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC). He described a number of required agency policies, training benchmarks and ongoing reporting obligations that local governments and the sheriff’s office must meet to be eligible for both the taxing authority and accompanying grant funds.

“This bill provides for public safety funding for local governments and law enforcement agencies through a grant program and a local sales and use tax authority,” Tobin Meyer, Chief Criminal Deputy, said. He summarized key requirements: agencies must adopt policies consistent with the Keep Washington Working Act; maintain and report use‑of‑force data to the Washington State Data Exchange (WADEp); meet training benchmarks including a 25% deputy completion rate for the CJTC’s 40‑hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and 100% completion for required trauma‑informed, gender‑based violence interviewing and case‑review training for officers who fall under that standard.

County submission to CJTC and timeline

Meyer said the county submitted materials to the CJTC on Oct. 3 seeking verification that Skagit County meets program requirements; the county expects a CJTC response on or around Nov. 21. Commissioners said they plan to consider a resolution to impose the tax in early November (Nov. 3 or Nov. 10 were discussed), and that any final decision would follow verification and further public input.

Why it matters: staffing, crisis response and allowable uses

The legislation limits use of revenues to criminal justice purposes that “substantially assist the criminal justice system.” Meyer and others identified allowable uses including crisis response teams, domestic‑violence services and legal advocates, increased public‑defender staffing, pretrial diversion and reentry programs, behavioral‑health services tied to justice diversion, and other programs that materially reduce contact with the criminal justice system.

Sheriff’s office representatives emphasized two related problems: low officer per‑capita staffing in Washington and pressing demand for crisis response. Christopher Baldwin, Chief of Field Operations, said Washington ranks last in officers per capita and that the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is in the lower third of the state for deputies per capita. “Our response time for a Priority 1 call is around 20 minutes right now,” Baldwin said, and the county needs measures to reduce response times.

Crisis Response Team examples and outcomes

Sergeant Ann Weed, who leads SCSO’s Crisis Response Team (CRT), described several cases in which the co‑response team paired deputies with licensed mental health professionals (MHPs) to reduce repeat 911 calls, connect people to treatment and keep individuals out of costly hospital admissions and jails. Weed said the CRT performs welfare checks, arranges for in‑home care, secures treatment beds for people with substance‑use disorders, and conducts family interventions that have prevented repeated law‑enforcement contacts. “When we spend extra time on crisis calls, it frees up our patrol deputies to respond to the emergencies that need to be responded to,” she said.

Public testimony: mixed views

Speakers at the hearing included residents and nonprofit leaders who both supported and opposed authorizing the tax. Recovery Cafe Skagit’s Executive Director Sean Howard urged support, saying expanded county funding would allow co‑response teams to reach people in East County and provide connections to services for people experiencing homelessness, addiction and mental‑health crises. Integrated Outreach Services mental‑health professional Erin Von Fempp said co‑response teams reach people who have been excluded from other social services and function as the “provider of best resort,” arguing the county needs more flexible, responsive outreach capacity.

Opponents framed the question as a new tax burden. Todd Ferguson (Mount Vernon) and Val Mullen (Sedro‑Woolley) urged caution and opposed higher sales tax; other speakers, including Diana McDougall, said cost pressures on fixed‑income residents are a concern. Several members of the public asked how much revenue the tax would generate and what programs would be protected if the measure failed; commissioners and staff estimated full implementation revenue of roughly $4.25–$4.5 million per year but said the county would budget cautiously and not overcommit funds.

Budget, oversight and reporting

Meyer and staff emphasized the bill requires annual reporting to the Washington Association of Counties and that the sheriff and agency executives must certify compliance with the CJTC requirements. Revenues are restricted to qualifying criminal‑justice purposes. Meyer also noted the sheriff must be CJTC certified and meet certain personnel eligibility requirements to participate in the program.

Next steps and board remarks

Commissioners said they will continue outreach and deliberation and signaled the need for clear priority lists for how the county would spend proceeds (for example, sustaining CRT, hiring additional deputies, public defenders or diversion programming). The board did not adopt the tax at the hearing; staff expected the board to take potential action the first or second week of November, after CJTC verification and additional review of priorities.

Ending

The hearing closed after commissioners received public comment and asked staff to refine spending priorities and continue engagement with municipal partners and community providers. No final vote was taken Oct. 28; any ordinance to impose the 0.1% sales and use tax would require a later formal action by the Board of County Commissioners.