Vote on Pierce County behavioral health delayed indefinitely. Money needed now, supporters say
After two hours of nonprofits, school districts, hospitals, police departments, elected officials and residents speaking to the need for behavioral health funding, the Pierce County Council decided Tuesday to indefinitely postpone voting on implementing a tax to raise such money.
The 4-3 decision was split along party lines, with Republican Chairman Doug Richardson, Jim McCune, Pam Roach, and Dave Morell tabling the bill.
The tax proposal would increase the county sales tax by one-tenth of 1 percent, or a penny on every ten-dollar purchase. The county estimates the tax would have collected about $13.1 million in 2020 to address gaps in mental health and substance abuse care.
Following the vote, Morell introduced a resolution to have a strategic plan in place before holding a vote for the tax. He warned his colleagues that if the resolution did not pass, the tax would “go down in flames” and they would “have to wait another two years.”
According to the county charter, a tax increase requires a supermajority, or five of seven votes. Morell is considered the swing vote to get to the supermajority.
Richardson, who voted for the tax in 2016 when it failed to get a supermajority, said Tuesday he wanted a bill that four other council members would feel comfortable voting for.
“I supported (Morell) getting what he needed to feel like he could entertain it,” Richardson said.
Morell’s resolution to push back the vote to the end of the year looked like it didn’t have the required four votes.
Roach and the Democrats, Connie Ladenburg, Marty Campbell, and Derek Young, spoke against the resolution.
Roach, who represents District 2, said she was still going to vote no on the tax but wanted more of a public conversation and to hear from drug court participants about what programs they needed.
The Democrats felt that a delay was not necessary. Many taxes are passed without counting how every penny would be spent, Ladenburg said.
The council clerk called the roll:
Ladenburg: no
McCune: yes
Morell: yes
Roach: no
Young paused, looked up at the ceiling, and voted for the delay.
Campbell: no
Richardson: yes
Young said while he did not agree on the delay, voting against it would result in another two years of getting a new council up to speed before the council would get a chance to vote on it again. He felt that Morell had put him in a corner.
Behavioral Health Tax
The one-tenth of one percent on sales tax is estimated to cost every resident in Pierce County outside of Tacoma $19.35 annually.
The money collected would help existing health care providers and nonprofits cover the existing gaps in mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities. The funds would help cover costs incurred by therapeutic and drug courts, crisis recovery centers and to provide more beds for those in crisis.
Of Washington’s 39 counties, 24 have passed this tax. Pierce County is the sole county in Western Washington to not have the tax. Tacoma was allowed permission by the state to pass the tax after the county failed to.
The delay
The resolution to delay also requested a county subcommittee to deliver a strategic framework before Oct. 1 of how the $13.1 million would be spent.
“The plan doesn’t need to have every ‘I’ dotted and ‘T’ crossed,” Morell said. “I spoke to other counties, and they wish they had done this.”
Morell told the public his sibling overcame a heroin addiction, and he knew what it was like to see a loved one struggle. He wants to ensure that the taxpayers’ dollars fix the gaps as well as possible.
“Residents get to keep their money until we have a plan on how to spend their money,” Morell said.
The committee is expected to send progress reports before turning over a plan. The council will debate the plan and, if accepted, a vote would take place before the last day of 2020.
Ladenburg said care providers already know how the money needs to be spent. Kicking the can down the road just costs the care providers millions of dollars, she said.
Young said it was a waste of time for a mental health care system that is understaffed and overwhelmed.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 1:26 PM.
