The Pierce County Council has proposed a new sales tax for the purpose of 911 funding. Proposition 1, “South Sound 911,” is a poorly conceived plan that costs too much money and raises taxes at a time when we just can’t afford it.
Proposition 1 overreaches the county’s need and puts further strain on overburdened taxpayers. Hardest hit by this regressive tax would be those who can least afford it: senior citizens on a fixed income, struggling small-business owners and working families.
Proponents of Proposition 1 claim it is needed to fix the current 911 system. But 911 is not broken, and their plan fails to create the seamless solution they claim. In fact, a study conducted for the Pierce County-operated LESA dispatch system specifically recommended against the model the county is proposing, citing inefficiency and inherent transfer problems that are both costly and time-consuming.
There is no dispute that Pierce County needs to upgrade its radio system. For 10 years, county officials have known of the federal mandate requiring radio upgrades. They have failed to make this a priority, negligently choosing to ignore officer safety and failing to budget appropriately. Pierce County opted not to join Tacoma, Puyallup and Central Pierce when those systems upgraded their systems several years ago. Now the federal mandate deadline is looming and they are desperately seeking the funding needed to update their systems and be in compliance.
Federally mandated radio upgrades are estimated at approximately $30 million dollars, a mere fraction of the $295 million-to-$600 million dollars the Pierce County Council has estimated this tax will raise over 25 years.
The result is a surplus of several hundred million dollars. In addition to radio system upgrades, they intend to use this money to build three unnecessary new building and to maintain a revenue stream for their upkeep.
Proposition 1 offers an inefficient plan to consolidate all Pierce County agencies into two new emergency communication centers, one for police and one for fire. The system they have designed creates unavoidable delays for emergency calls. Fire dispatchers are not trained to screen 911 calls, which will require that you first speak with a police dispatcher and then be transferred to the fire department. This system, currently in use in Pierce County, wastes resources and slows emergency response times.
A more effective system would employ cross-trained dispatchers who dispatch both police and fire from the same center. These dispatchers would have the ability to handle all 911 calls they receive, eliminating time-consuming transfers. Having two combined centers, similarly equipped and staffed, creates the ability to provide support in the event one center fails due to technical problems or disaster.
The Puyallup City Council has openly questioned this proposal and its apprehension about undetermined costs and service levels are shared by other cities in Pierce County. Cities that have made upgrades and are in compliance stand to lose millions of dollars they have already invested, with no increase of services, while Pierce County stands to gain hundreds of millions despite its failure to act.
Because Pierce County realizes this is a difficult proposal to sell on its own merit, they have resorted to scare tactics and deception. Proposition 1 will change nothing about how you use 911 or the services you currently receive. Blaming community tragedies on 911 failures is inaccurate and inflammatory. If the 911 system has been an officer safety issue all these years, why have they done nothing to fix it until now? The 911 radio system will be upgraded as is being required by federal mandate, even with the failure of Proposition 1.
Proposition 1 is the wrong plan, at the wrong time. Pierce County has failed to develop a system that streamlines 911 or makes any significant changes to how 911 works for us right now. Taxpayers should not be asked to fund a poorly designed and wasteful project. Vote “no” on Proposition 1.
Lara Gavre of Puyallup is treasurer of the Reject Prop 1 campaign.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.