Whatcom View: Bellingham police and fire fighter unions reject new jail tax

As ballots for the November election roll out this month and we consider the jail tax measure, one gets the feeling we’ve been here before. Over 10 years ago Sheriff Elfo, along with other county officials, painted a grim picture regarding the state of the Whatcom County Jail. It’s unsafe – for inmates and corrections staff alike; it’s unsanitary, out of date and “literally falling apart.”

As any officer or deputy who works in this county will tell you, that’s exactly the case. Which is why, in 2004, all of us supported the jail tax. In fact we convinced our friends and family to vote in favor and put signs in our yards showing support.

The tax passed authorizing 0.1 percent sales tax to be collected in a special fund set aside to build a brand new jail. That was the message to the public and to local law enforcement.

This year is different: none of the largest local law enforcement organizations have supported this new tax measure and the Bellingham Police Guild and Bellingham/Whatcom Firefighters Local 106 ask that you vote no on Prop. 2015-1, the jail tax.

Why are we opposing the jail tax in 2015? If this passes, all of our public safety tax authority will be locked up for 30 years yet some of our most critical needs — for mental health or substance and alcohol abuse treatment — are left unanswered. As our community grows we may need to fund a police station, a mental health treatment facility or new fire stations to serve our neighborhoods. But if this tax passes, we may find that we can’t pay for programs and facilities that will keep your family safe and the mentally ill out of jail.

We can’t even be certain we’ll have the new jail. Since 2004, $31.5-million has been collected for that purpose. Land was purchased (at an astronomical price) and our old jail is still unsafe, overcrowded and “literally falling apart.” Unfortunately, the same loopholes that allowed the 2004 jail sales tax to be squandered on other things are in this ballot measure too.

We believe any fiscally responsible plan must include mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities.

There is currently a mental health crisis in our community. Routinely half of the calls for service our officers, deputies and fire personnel respond to are people in varying stages of crisis due to mental illness. Many times officers are unable to offer available respite or resources because they are simply unavailable and so people in crisis often end up in jail. This community is in dire need of a secure, safe mental health facility.

The Bellingham Fire Department recently implemented a community medic program. This offers many homeless and mentally ill individuals a chance to receive non-emergent treatment in the field when they would otherwise not have it. Sometimes it’s just as simple as a blood sugar check and a ride to a place of shelter. Other times it may identify a medical condition requiring immediate treatment.

The Bellingham Police Department has recently outfitted their officers with body-worn cameras, in an effort to provide transparency in policing and maintain the public trust.

These are examples of pressing public safety needs. All of these come at a cost, and many will be ignored for decades if we vote for the jail tax.

The members of the Bellingham Police Guild and your Local 106 Firefighters know for certain that we need a new jail. We support a fiscally responsible new jail and ask that the 2004 sales tax be used exclusively to build the new jail from this point forward.

We cannot support another new jail tax that locks up 100 percent of our public safety tax capacity for the next 30 years. As careful stewards of your tax dollars we ask you to vote no on the jail sales tax measure.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Whatcom View: Bellingham police and fire fighter unions reject new jail tax."