At recent forums, Auburn city officials have taken heat from the community over break-ins, juvenile crime and other issues.
But as the cost of maintaining public safety services has continued to outpace the growth of the sources of Auburn’s general fund that directly support them, the city has struggled.
At a work session on Nov. 10, the Auburn City Council chewed over an idea authorized by a state law adopted in 2025: adding a one-tenth of 1% sales-and-use tax for criminal justice purposes.
City officials say the proposed tax would represent a significant additional source of funding to address public safety needs, and maintain programs and services state law allows to address high-priority community safety needs.
The new law would apply only if the city passes the sales-and-use tax ordinance on Monday, Nov 17, and if it meets certain criteria.
The Legislature has expanded the traditional meaning of public safety, allowing cities to apply the additional one-tenth of 1 % sales-and-use tax to domestic violence services, public defenders, diversion and re-entry programs, programs to reduce homelessness and improve behavioral health, community outreach and assistance programs, alternative mental health crisis response programs, and community placement for juvenile offenders.
In the case of a sales tax, the tax would be assessed on the selling price or in the case of a use tax, on the value of the article used. It would apply henceforward to taxable events on or after April 1, 2026.
“The tax is not new. We’ve had this option historically,” Jamie Thomas, the city’s financial director, told the council last Monday. “But it required a majority vote of voters as it wasn’t a councilmanic option, and was limited just to public safety. This is much more flexible.”
The new state law has a second funding mechanism that opens grant opportunities for the hiring, training and retention of police officers over the next three years. But it covers only 75% of an officer’s salary up to $125,000 per year, per officer, so the city would have to come up with a 25% local match if it is using the grants to pay for salaries and benefits.
At this time, Thomas added, the city is not asking for the authority to move forward with the grants. It is only asking for the 0.1% on the sales-and-use tax. If the city adopts that, it has the option to seek grant funding later, but only when it has the sales and use tax in place. It must also have in place policies consistent with the state attorney general’s Keep Washington Working Act guide.
The city council expects to vote on the tax at the next regular council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17. To the extent an additional sales tax would cause the total rate of tax for sales of lodging to exceed the state permitted maximum, the proposed law exempts lodging sales.
