The defeat of Proposition 4 in last week’s election does not eliminate the need for increased police staffing in Vancouver. City officials should view the election results as a slight rebuke rather than a firm repudiation and should explore avenues for balancing public safety with fiscal restraints.
Proposition 4 would have increased the city’s property tax levy by 5 percent annually over the next six years, with funding going toward law enforcement. For a house with an assessed value of $500,000, the annual property tax would have increased approximately $585 in 2030 compared with the current levy rate.
The increase was designed to add up to 80 full-time sworn officers and 36 nonsworn staff positions for the Vancouver Police Department. It also was expected to add a traffic enforcement camera program, expand the city’s Homeless Assistance and Resources Team (which has two officers) and upgrade equipment.
As of Tuesday’s ballot count, the measure was failing by approximately 4.5 percentage points. While voters have various individual reasons for approving or rejecting a tax increase, the guess is that a majority of Vancouver residents support enhanced funding for police, but Proposition 4 was just too large of a request.
Indeed, the needs of the Vancouver Police Department are well-documented. A police advisory committee that recommended the proposition said that, since 2018, there has been a 30 percent increase in calls for police services and an 87 percent increase in reported crimes.
Such increases are expected in a growing city. As City Councilor Ty Stober said, “It just has become very obvious since the city has grown that we are going beyond the capabilities of the services that we’ve been able to fund so far.”
Part of the reason for that is a state law that puts a lid on levy increases for municipalities. City and county governments may not increase the levy by more than 1 percent annually. Increases may be banked, allowing for up to a 5 percent increase if one was not adopted in the previous four years.
That limitation does not keep up with inflation, causing a perpetual and unavoidable decline in services and staffing.
Law enforcement is one of the areas impacted by that decline. Washington ranks last among the states in terms of sworn officers per capita. And according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs, Vancouver has a significantly lower rate of commissioned officers than Spokane and Tacoma, and a slightly lower rate than Kent. Those cities are similar to Vancouver in population, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison.
Still, it is easy to see why Proposition 4 was rejected by voters. As The Columbian wrote editorially in support of the measure: “There are, indeed, problems with the proposal. One is that it calls for levy increases over six years, locking residents into an annual tax increase. Another is the size of the request, which will pose a significant burden.”
Most importantly, the Editorial Board added, “If Proposition 4 does not pass, city officials should not be shy about approaching voters with a future proposal; the need is clear.”
As demonstrated by the Affordable Housing Fund, which twice has been passed in the city, Vancouver voters often are willing to support tax increases that have a clear need along with guarantees that the money will go to its stated purpose. A smaller request for police funding would fall into that category and is worth another attempt.
