SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokanites are divided over Mayor Lisa Brown’s community safety sales tax increase that’s on the November ballot.
Proposition 1 would increase Spokane’s sales tax by one-tenth of a percent.
If passed, this would cost taxpayers an extra $1 for every $1,000 spent.
Mayor Brown said the tax increase is crucial to neighborhoods that want their resource officers and traffic safety units restored.
Jeff Mergler is the chair of the Comstock Neighborhood Council and said he is in favor of Prop 1 because of the dangerous speeding his neighborhood regularly deals with.
“This is not just me. This is what all of our residents say at our meetings every month. It’s over and over. It’s a repetitive complaint. It’s the public safety aspect – the speeding at all these different locations. This is what we hear every month at every single meeting,” said Mergler.
Mergler said Comstock needs a Traffic Safety Unit.
He also supports Prop 1 because of the funding that would go to Spokane Fire Department.
An official with the East Central Neighborhood Council also expressed their support for Prop 1 citing the neighborhood’s need for Neighborhood Resource Officers.
The Neighborhood Council Vice Chair told 4 News Now he has received help from Neighborhood Resource Officers in the past with nuisance houses in the Underhill Park area.
Mayor Lisa Brown said if Prop 1 passes, at least seven Neighborhood Resource Officers would be funded. But, there are 29 neighborhoods in Spokane.
As to where these Neighborhood Resource Officers would be placed, the city said it would look at the types of calls the Spokane Police Department receives that would be suitable for a Neighborhood Resource Officer and from which parts of the city.
The city said it would also ensure that the Neighborhood Resource Officers are accessible to all neighborhoods across the city.
Chris Savage lives in the Balboa South Indian Trail neighborhood and said although he believes funding for Spokane Fire and Police is needed, he is against Prop 1 because the funding would also go toward the Office of the Ombuds and the municipal court.
“So, the Ombuds Office is the least of our concerns. Currently, I think there’s far better concerns that we should be doing, and unfortunately, it just devalues the original ask of what is going on. Because, again, I’m going to point to our fire [department]. We really need it,” said Savage.
Savage used to serve on the Balboa/South Indian Trail Neighborhood Council. He said he is also skeptical that there will be enough staff to bring back Neighborhood Resource Officers.
If the proposition does pass, Savage said he is in favor of his neighborhood having a Traffic Safety Unit to deter speeding in the area.
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