(The Center Square) – The City of Spokane and Spokane County both asked voters to pass sales taxes Tuesday; Although some local officials have viewed these measures as competing, early results show that both have been exceeded.

The spectacle unfolded as county election officials processed more than 211,000 ballots Tuesday, with 31,000 remaining Wednesday. The remaining votes could influence the outcome of one measure, but not both, as Spokane County’s tax renewal is currently leading by a promising margin.

The success of these two measures would maintain the operational capacity of the county’s detention centers and potentially strengthen public safety for the city of Spokane; however, it could also impact the county’s chances of adopting a future jail initiative amid overcrowding in its facilities.

Spokane County has collected its tax on juvenile detention and jail sales for nearly 30 years and will continue to do so. Tuesday’s results showed the renewal leading with nearly 60% approval. Spokane County still has to count all the other ballots, but not enough to narrow the 38,000-vote margin.

“This funding is critical to helping offenders make positive changes while holding them accountable for protecting public safety,” Mary Kuney, chairwoman of the county Board of Commissioners, wrote in a statement. “It supports 140 employees and funds the operation and maintenance of our juvenile detention centers and jails, which operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

The one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax collects $1 for every $1,000 spent, generating more than $15 million annually for the county. Detention Services. According to internal documents, it raised $101.7 million between 2016 and 2023, a little more than half of which was spent at local juvenile facilities.

State law mandates most operations within detention services, meaning behavioral health and other services would be first to operate if the renewal had occurred. failed. However, this success does not solve all of the county’s problems, as a growing jail population strains resources.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown also put a sales tax on the ballot, but it was an increase rather than a renewal. Still, that reflects the county’s tenth of 1 percent, collecting $1 for every $1,000 spent, but will generate less due to fewer people living in the city than in the county.

City officials estimate the sales tax would generate about $7.7 million annually, 15 percent of which would go to the county.

Some local officials looked at sales tax for Brown’s community safety proposal as in competition with the revival of the county, fearing that the success of one will lead to the failure of the other. Brown’s hike aims to strengthen public safety, but skeptics worry about his safeguards.

Councilman Jonathan Bingle warned that the tax increase would limit the county’s ability to levy another sales tax to fund new detention centers. State Law limits the county and cities to levy three-tenths of 1 percent, meaning they can only levy one-tenth more if both pass this time.

“The mayor promised me good faith, meaningful discussion and effort (in jail) on a lot of things, and then he went back on that,” Bingle told The Center Square, “so I don’t give him a hard time. all confidence, but I intend to hold his feet to the fire on this.

Although the City Council adopted a sunset clause and a fund to ensure revenues met their stated goal, neither were included in the ballot text. The lack of detail allows the council to repeal them at any time by a majority vote, thereby shifting the destination of tax revenue.

Bingle, a conservative, fears the city council majority will override the will of the people by using revenue for other purposes. He wants to focus on public safety, enforcing the law and building a new prison, and he said so when discuss Brown last month.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels and other conservatives also discussed the impact of a future jail initiative. The last attempt failed in 2023, and that tax limits the county’s ability to ask voters to re-adopt the 0.2% sales tax without city permission.

Until Tuesday, it seemed many were skeptical about raising taxes amid rising costs; however, the results show the opposite, with 58% voter approval so far. The margin is only around 12,000 votes, so nothing is certain yet, there are 31,000 left as of Wednesday evening.

“Tonight’s vote represents a collective commitment to our first responders, our courts and our ombudsman’s office,” Brown wrote in a statement. “Proposition 1 will allow us to invest in much-needed resources for our community to address our public safety challenges.”

Spokane County will continue to process remaining ballots before certifying the election results on November 26.