Facing continuing crime and public safety problems in south King County, the Kent mayor, Dana Ralph, is supporting a Legislative bill in Olympia that would allow cities and counties to raise the local sales tax by 0.3%–three cents on a $10 purchase–to fight crime.
Ralph tells KVI’s John Carlson, “Washington is 51st in police staffing and the city of Kent is at the bottom of that” saying Kent needs an extra 30-35 police officers. Ralph indicates that the sales tax hike bill would allow Kent to generate tax money to hire more police officers and improve public safety.
To hear the full interview, click the play button below.
Carlson asks Ralph, “Are we doing everything we could to reduce crime? Isn’t crime the driver of high criminal justice costs?
Ralph says too much of the criminal justice system–courts, prosecutors and judges–is out of her hands jurisdictionally as the city mayor.
The bill in the Washington Legislature that Ralph is supporting is SB 6076. The criticism of raising sales taxes in Washington is that it raises prices for residents, thus reducing how much they have to pay their necessities like rent, mortgage, food, groceries, utility bills (power, heat and garbage) and transportation which invariably increases the cost of living in Washington.
