Last month, Councilmember Nehring and I hosted interns from the Prosecuting Attorney's Office to chat about civility in government and our roles as young electeds in Snohomish County. We had the opportunity to answer questions from the interns about being elected at a young age, working together to serve our constituents, and how to have more effective conversations with people who hold different opinions than our own. I am always grateful for an opportunity to meet with young people making a difference in our community. Thank you to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for the opportunity to meet with your wonderful interns!
In early July, the County Council approved a ballot initiative asking voters to implement a two-tenths of one percent (0.2%), or two cents for every $10, sales tax to fund programs to improve public safety, combat the drug crisis, and ultimately reduce crime. The ballot measure will provide voters the opportunity to weigh in on whether they want us to deploy these new tools and enhance our criminal justice agencies. If the voters approve the sales tax, they can look forward to the following improvements:
- Snohomish County will be able to hire more law enforcement officers to ensure the cartels, drug dealers, and criminals will be held accountable.
- The County will be able to add more resources to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Public Defense, and Courts to ensure we can prosecute those who are arrested for crimes.
- The County will establish a Secure Withdrawal Management facility in Snohomish County to provide more capacity for those who need to get clean, vitally increasing the 77 beds that are now available statewide.
- Snohomish County would establish a second community resource center like Carnegie which has shown success in helping get people connected with services.
- The County would increase treatment services for addiction in our jail.
- The County would create programs to address graffiti, derelict vehicles, and other visible signs of the crisis.
The measure will appear on the November 5th ballot and if approved, will help improve public safety and health for the communities we call home. Additionally, if approved, the sales tax will cost the average resident about $0.50 per month.
In July, the Council passed Motion 24-282 approving the award of council project dollars to Hope Creek Charitable Foundation for $350,000. Hope Creek operates the Mill Creek Community Food Bank and they have provided over 740,000 pounds of food in 2023 and they project that number to increase by 20-30% in 2024. I had an opportunity to tour the food bank last year and I am incredibly grateful for the work they do to serve not only our neighbors in District 4, but our neighbors around the County who are in need.
The Snohomish County Department of Information Technology recently received the 2nd place award during the 22nd Annual Digital Counties Survey, hosted by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. The survey identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline the delivery of government services; provide data analytics to allow decisions based on performance and outcomes; enhance cybersecurity; and apply innovative and emerging technologies to county priorities. Our IT team works diligently to serve Snohomish County and I am very grateful for their leadership and solution-oriented teamwork.
|
