(VANCOUVER, WA.) — Vancouver council approved the first reading of a proposal that would fund additional law enforcement by raising the local sales tax by 0.1%.
The Vancouver City Council meeting on August 17th, 2026 included the first reading of an ordinance that would enact an additional sales and use tax of one-tenth of one percent for criminal justice purposes as authorized by RCW 82.14.345.
This would add a new section to the Vancouver Municipal Code Chapter 5.98; providing for severability; and establishing an effective date.
Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle introduced Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price to open the agenda item.
Photo Credit: CVTV
Chief Price began by reacquainting the council with the history of this challenge when voters were given Prop 4, which was struck down in November 2024.
“Southwest Washington is the lowest staffed. It's an area of the country with the lowest staffed law enforcement agencies when you compare the population size and the number of officers available to answer the calls for service in our communities,” Price says.
Following this, Prop 5 was introduced and passed as a scaled-down version of Prop 4.
Chief Price explained that in addition to Prop 5, House Bill 2015 offered the opportunity to apply for grants. The application for those grants has been submitted, and they are awaiting a response from Olympia.
“In addition to that, there is an opportunity for city council to impose a point 1% sales tax. And again, that money would go to the training and to actually present an additional 13 officers for the City of Vancouver for service to the citizens of the City of Vancouver,” Price says.
While hiring 13 new police officers and supporting public defenders were presented as crucial, Councilor Diana Perez critically noted the disproportionate impact on lower-income residents and questioned the timing, given other forthcoming county taxes and pending police chief hiring.
“I strongly support our law, our law enforcement officers, and making sure that they have the staffing and resources necessary to keep Vancouver safe. I also recognize that too many of our working families, seniors, and people on fixed incomes are struggling with affordability right now, and that is real,” Perez says.
Councilor Perez expressed interest in waiting to hear from voters before adding another tax and said she would not be supporting the ordinance.
Photo Credit: CVTV
“I think I'm erring on the side of pausing before we add another tax. At this point, I'd love to hear what the voters have to say about the county's jail tax proposal. I want to move forward with hiring our police chief and then take a clear look at our public safety needs,” Perez says.
Councilor Bart Hansen announced he would be supporting the ordinance, but asked for clear communication about what the tax will accomplish.
“I would hate for this to be reported that we're just simply going to hire more police officers and not have any public defense for any of the folks that they arrest,” Hansen says, “I'm really concerned about how this is going to be communicated to the public, because I don't want this to come across as we're just simply going to hire more police officers for catch and release.”
Ultimately, the council approved advancing the ordinance to implement 0.1% public safety sales and use tax for criminal justice purposes, funding 13 additional police officers and public defenders.
If you would like to comment on this report, please email me at rory.h@lead4earth.org.
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