Vancouver and county officials are holding work sessions with the various local criminal justice agencies to take a comprehensive look at staffing challenges before considering possible ballot measures to address funding later this year.
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said the work sessions, which are a part of the joint Law and Justice Council, are dedicated times for the agencies to present their current staffing levels and any needs they’d have if voters agree to fund additional Vancouver police officers or Clark County sheriff’s deputies. The groups include the local courts, jail, and prosecution and defense offices.
The effort comes on the heels of the November failure of Vancouver’s Proposition 4, which would have funded the addition of 80 Vancouver police officers and 36 nonsworn personnel. In the weeks prior to the general election, county officials sounded the alarm over impacts the dozens of new officers and creation of a traffic camera program would have on countywide services.
Now, McEnerny-Ogle and county Councilor Sue Marshall said they want to ensure voters have all the information about staffing needs in the system as a whole, in addition to the need for more law enforcement officers.
The mayor said city officials are planning to run a ballot measure again in November, calling the new measure Proposition 5.
“What we wanted to do is bring out … the rationale for staffing and start working that through a process with the public,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
The Clark County Council also recently considered placing its own measure on a ballot to fund dozens of new deputies but ultimately didn’t take any action. Marshall said county officials are aware of the need for more deputies, and they’re considering a funding path that balances the needs with the rest of the services. Marshall called the local justice system a web and said tugging on one end of it strains the other threads.
“Public safety, I know for the city and the county, is a high priority, and it behooves us to get it right,” Marshall said. “That’s the path we’re on, I believe.”
Marshall said it’s too soon for her to say what, exactly, the county intends to ask voters to fund or when voters could see the ask on their ballots. (The deadline to put measures on the February ballot has already passed.) But, she said the best-case scenario would be to put forward a measure at the same time as the city of Vancouver so that voters can see the agreed-upon approach.
Both the city and the county are facing difficult budget years. In December, the city passed its $2 billion 2025-2026 budget, which required it to balance a $43 million deficit. The same week, the county passed its $871 million 2025 budget, but officials warn the county is facing a $10 million shortfall next year.
Two new county councilors were sworn in last week, which Marshall noted makes the staffing information that the work group is assembling crucial to help get the councilors up to speed.