In about-face, Benton County will spend some public safety money after all

The Benton County commission will spend at least some of dollars in a public safety reserve fund as early as this year.

Commission Chairman Jerome Delvin said the county will accept requests for a month and will award money to projects as long as they qualify under terms of the ballot language for the 2014 public safety sales tax.

“I’m tired of the issue,” Delvin said during a contentious news conference Wednesday to explain why and how the county amassed a $15.6 million reserve fund after voters agreed to raise the sales tax to improve public safety in 2014.

The fund stood at $14.2 million at the end of February, according to a newly-released report.

“If that’s the demand, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

Significant reversal

The move to spend the reserve money is a reversal for the county.

As recently as Tuesday, the commission was committed to spending money only through its normal budget process. It will begin preparing its 2019-20 budget in a few months.

The change came after weeks of questions about the idling reserve and the commission’s perceived unwillingness to use the reserves to support programs such as the Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force — a regional effort led by the city of Kennewick — or an inter-fund transfer to convert unfilled jail positions into three detective jobs.

The money is generated by a three-tenths of a sales tax that applies to most purchases in the county.

Under state law, Benton County receives 60 percent of the money while the cities of Kennewick, Prosser, Richland and West Richland split the remaining 40 percent, based on population.

Delvin said the commission will pay for the drug task force and cover a controversial $100,000 shortfall as well, after a new memorandum of understanding is signed.

Delvin also said the commission will discuss Metro and the process for soliciting requests for sales tax money at its next regular meeting, March 20.

‘Most critical needs’

The news that the money will be invested in public safety came a day after the commission sidestepped a request by Sheriff Jerry Hatcher to reallocate public safety sales taxes from the jail budget, where Hatcher says it is not needed.

Hatcher wanted to convert the unfilled jail positions into three detectives to work on child sex crimes, combating gangs and enhancing swing shift investigations.

Commissioner Shon Small supported Hatcher’s request, but the motion died when neither Delvin nor Commissioner Jim Beaver would second it.

Hatcher said Wednesday that he will resubmit the request for the three detectives during the new open request period.

“These are our most critical needs,” he said.

The county’s explanation that it couldn’t fund the new detectives outside of the normal budget request angered many who attended the news conference.

Jack Simington, a recently retired Kennewick police sergeant, noted that one of the detectives would be assigned to the Southeast Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a Richland-led initiative that has arrested dozens through its mission to fight child pornography and child sex abuse.

Simington said the ICAC team is overwhelmed with potential cases. The county commissioners would have been “rock stars” if they had approved the budget transfer.

“Why in the hell aren’t we doing it? It’s not rocket science,” he demanded.

But Delvin wondered why the task force goes online posing as minors selling sex in order to catch would-be predators.

“I don’t know why you invite them to our community,” he said.

Anticipated surplus

The county has defended the reserve fund, saying the sales tax revenue is coming in higher than expected and that it has funded every request.

It is clear, however, that the county knew that a three-tenths of a percent sales tax would generate more money than it needed at least five years ago.

The surplus was anticipated by the Benton County Criminal Justice Sales Tax Citizens Advisory Committee, which county commissioners created in 2012.

The committee recommended three-tenths of a percent, which also was the level cities said they needed to enhance public safety at the municipal level.

In its report to the commission, the citizens committee said there would be a surplus and recommended the county use it to:

• lower the fees cities pay to lodge prisoners at the Benton County jail,
• cover the cost of the Metro Drug Task Force
• and pay for initiatives to address needs as they emerge.

Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller said the Law and Justice Council did not recommend reducing jail fees when it advised the county commission to put the tax before voters.

However, it was still in the report that commissioners received.

In spite of the county’s controversial reserve, the criminal justice community and victim advocates say the sales tax is a win for public safety.

The tax supports 35 officers countywide and has been used to boost the prosecutor’s office, the public defender’s office, the drug court and create a mental health court.

Richland used its share to create the internet task force that pursues child predators.

Miller said it would be a mistake to dismiss the benefits because of a dispute over an unexpected reserve.

Benton County and some cities post reports on how they use their public safety sales tax revenue online at bit.ly/PublicSafetySalesTax

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 8:29 PM with the headline "In about-face, Benton County will spend some public safety money after all."