The Clark County Council has cynically proposed a juvenile facility tax to pay for body cameras for county sheriff’s deputies. This tax will collect well in excess of the money needed for ongoing bodycam expenses, and it does not include car cameras. Worth noting, they have grant funds for the one-time startup costs.
There may be valid needs, but this whole thing lacks public transparency. It was discussed in “council time” where there is no public comment, versus a regular council meeting. The three who voted for this have already said that if the tax fails, they will take it to mean the public does not support body cameras, not that we don’t like this particular way to fund them. If you vote against this tax but support bodycams, please send the councilors an email so they can’t use that dodge. The county’s financial position is not good, but a regressive sales tax is not the answer.
Write your council at this link: https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/write-councilor.
