Voters shut down plans for new Whatcom County jail

A plan to pay for a new Whatcom County jail with an increased local sales tax has failed, according to the most recent election totals.

Since early election results released Tuesday night, Nov. 3, showed the measure passing, the tables turned, with the measure failing by 1,639 votes out of 57,871 in the count released Friday night, Nov. 6.

The Whatcom County Auditor’s Office estimated only about 100 ballots total were left to count, along with any ballots that are challenged for signature verification. The election will be certified on Nov. 24.

Doug Starcher, a jail sales tax opponent and co-author of the con statement in the voter’s guide, was closely watching for the most recent results Friday night. He was happy with what he saw.

“I think delighted would be too soft,” Starcher said, of his feelings at seeing voters had rejected the measure.

Opponents of the measure have repeatedly called for changes to the plans for a new jail, including increases in alternatives to jail and diversion programs, enhanced mental health treatment in Whatcom County, and a reevaluation of who gets booked into jail.

Earlier this year, in response to those calls, the Whatcom County Council convened the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, which will continue to evaluate the county’s needs in those areas and make recommendations to the county to deal with persisting issues.

Other voters expressed frustration after realizing a 0.1 percent jail sales tax they overwhelmingly supported in 2004 had not resulted in a new jail, aside from the 150-bed minimum security work center, which was meant to be a temporary fix.

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, who has fought for a new jail for more than a decade, said he will move forward with work to do what he can to make the existing facilities safer and more humane.

“The voters have spoken on the issue and we’re going to have to go back and revisit what we can possibly do to bolster the existing facilities,” Elfo said. “I don’t think that’s a wise investment, but it’s the only option we may have at this point is to do some significant upgrades at the current jails and lower the population.”

Though the county and six small cities had agreed to a plan to pay for and operate a new jail, and Bellingham had not, all cities’ contracts to keep inmates in the jail will now expire at the end of the year. That means the sheriff and Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws will need to meet with each municipality and figure out how they will continue to use the jail.

“I can no longer operate the jail under those conditions,” Elfo said. “It’s not only inhumane to the people who live there, it’s unsafe and it’s unsanitary to the people that work there. We have to change that and bring it to an acceptable level of service.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Voters shut down plans for new Whatcom County jail."