RSSVoters overwhelmingly renew criminal justice sales tax
Yakima Herald-Republic
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima County voters apparently liked what they saw in the way law enforcement and the courts have spent their sales tax dollars.
A renewal of the three-tenths of a cent tax passed overwhelmingly Tuesday, with more than 78 percent of voters favoring the tax for another six years.
"I think the citizens have spoken clearly," said Yakima County Prosecutor Jim Hagarty, co-chairman of the campaign to retain the tax. "They are concerned about public safety and they want something done."
County Sheriff Ken Irwin, the other co-chairman, agreed.
"I think the citizens are sick and tired of the criminal element. This is their voice loud and clear," he said.
Irwin said those in the law enforcement community want to work even harder to prove to the public the money is being spent well.
The margin of victory was much larger than the 56 percent approval rate in 2004, when voters first agreed to institute the tax.
The vote will renew the three-tenths of a cent sales tax through 2016, costing county residents an average of about $36 per year. The measure would have expired at the end of 2010 had it not been renewed.
As of Tuesday night, the measure had 21,904 votes, or 78 percent in favor of renewal, to 6,119 votes, or 22 percent, opposed.
The measure, which will maintain the current sales tax rate of 8.2 cents on a $1 purchase in the city of Yakima and 7.9 cents elsewhere in the county, adds 30 cents to a $100 purchase.
The tax funds more than 100 positions countywide. That includes sheriff's deputies, city police officers, prosecutors, public defenders, court staff, juvenile detention officers, a Lower Valley District Court office and equipment for departments across the county.
The tax will generate about $8 million countywide next year, with 60 percent of the money going to the county and 40 percent to cities on a per-capita basis.
Supporters of the measure, including law enforcement and community groups, said its failure would have been devastating to law enforcement.
Had the measure failed, the positions funded by the tax would have been eliminated at the end of next year.
The election was held now in order to give supporters one last chance to put the measure before voters next fall if it failed.
On top of losing positions directly funded by the tax, criminal justice departments at the county and in the cities have been under economic pressure from declining regular tax dollars.
Irwin said the voters wanted law enforcement and the courts to continue to go after criminals.
"That is at the heart of it. They are saying, 'Kick them in the butt if that is what you have to do and get rid of the criminals,'" he said.
* David Lester can be reached at 509-577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.
Good job sheriff, keep up the great work.
Report Violation"Irwin said the voters wanted law enforcement and the courts to continue to go after criminals."
And that includes the huge conclave of illegal aliens here, who are criminals by definition. According to the Federal Government, not only is sneaking into our country, (ahead of all others who were coming according to the law) a misdemeanor, but the minute they obtained fake or stolen ID's, they became felons.
Now sheriff, I ask again. ENFORCE OUR LAWS LIKE YOU AGREED TO DO WHEN YOU TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE.
If it wasn't for your sanctuary policy toward these people, we wouldn't have needed the 3% tax at all. There wouldn't be that much crime to deal with.
At least, in Hagarty, we have a prosecutor who will prosecute criminals, instead of giving them all passes, like Zirkle did.
Nick,
Please show respect. We do not in any way, shape or form have Yakima as a sanctuary city. After all, the guys who break into your house are not given sanctuary status, that is unless the are hispanic, they guys who steal your car are not given sanctuary status, nor are those who assault or otherwise break the laws of this fair city; that is unless they are of illegal hispanic status.
Hum, on second thought, I guess yakima is truely a sanctuary city. MOVE OVER SAN FRANCISCO.
How much is it going to cost to make Yakima county safe? Even before this additional tax was voted in, nearly 80 percent of both the county and city budgets were going to the criminal justice system. Street repairs, light upgrades, senior services, all of these, and others, get swept aside in the name of public safety.
Yet, people are still getting shot, homes are being invaded, cars stolen. Because of money. The money involved in drugs. Huge profits insure that the drugs keep flowing, and those profits are what fuels gang violence. The harder we clamp down on the drugs, the more profitable they become. The more expensive the drugs, the greater lengths that users will go to get the money to go on using.
Everything indicates that legislating morality is an expensive failure. Drug use continues, in spite of treatment programs. What is the greater problem: The effects on society of a small number of individuals using drugs, or the bankrupting of local governments, escalating violence on the streets, and lack of respect for law enforcement?
We can spend 100 percent of our money fighting drugs, and still lose. The only way that we are going to control crime in the long term is to decriminalize those things which are in demand by enough people to make them very profitable. If people want to smoke marijuana, let them. If people insist on using heroin, or methamphetamine, send to to treatment programs that are more than just a few weeks incarceration.
We can either try to deal with crime after it has happened, or we can remove the reasons for the criminal behavior. Removing the reasons will be a lot cheaper in the long run.
I again agree with Nick, ENFORCE the law! Go after the criminals who hire illegal aliens! That include the rich farmers, warehouse owners, resturants and hotels! They're the source of all of our problems, cheap labor employers! Nick blames the drug user and I say we go after the drug dealer! No dealer(employers) equals no druggies(illegal aliens)!
Report ViolationHere you have the concept of 3/10ths explained in a logical way. Why couldn't that be done for the 1/10th needed for the aquatic center?
Report ViolationFor the love of money. This world is going crazy. Thats good that those jobs are secure. The problem still will exist and maybe worsen. I've witnessed alot of people turn bad for the love of money. I don't blame or look down on the drug dealer because I could be in the same boat. We all must be careful and at the same time its about survival.
Report ViolationBudger,
The 3/10ths pays for law enforcement, the 1/10th would have payed for a water park. Which do you suppose is a higher priority?
Fredo, I do NOT blame the drug users. However, I, like you, blame the employers of illegals for providing the jobs that are the magnet that entices the illegals to come here in the first place. We need to prosecute the employers. But, the sheriff can't do that.
One thing he CAN do legally, is ask about immigration status as a matter of course, on any and every contact with a person his deputies detain for any reason, (and not just those that may appear to be a minority - everybody). If they can't produce satisfactory ID, then call ICE. Simple as that. If illegals knew they might be checked, they would soon go somewhere else, preferably back home.
Nick,
You are incorrect on your post about us being a sanctuary county. The feds are told when every single illegal is taken into custody. Before you get your panties in a bunch, do your homework.
I'm not arguing that public safety is a higher priority. If it were a choice between the two, the choice is obvious: public safety.
I'm highlighting the fact that everyone opposed to the aquatic park used the point that the 1/10 tax was too much money. The YHR "showed the math" for the 3/10 tax, and for the everyday citizen of Yakima County (inclusive of incorporated areas), an extra 10 cents for every $100 spent isn't going to break anyone's bank.
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