Port Angeles passes sales tax for police officers

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 10, 2026

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council has approved an increase in sales tax for criminal justice.

The council unanimously approved a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase on Tuesday to be used solely for expenditures for the Port Angeles Police Department.

The tax will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

The tax is the result of the PAPD receiving a Criminal Justice Training Commission grant, which will fund 75 percent of the salaries of four additional police officers for two years. Without the new sales tax, the city would have to find a way to continue to pay for those officers or lose them when the grant ends.

The grant was made possible when the state Legislature passed House Bill 2015 last year. The bill allows participating cities the option of enacting the councilmanic tax as a way to continue funding the officers.

“For us, it’s one of the most important things that happened to us in modern times in terms of staffing and support for the officers and the work they do in the field,” Police Chief Brian Smith said. “We don’t take any of this lightly. You know, increasing taxes is increasing taxes. I live here. I’m glad to pay it.”

The additional 0.1 percent criminal justice tax is estimated to collect $510,000 in 2027. The city council chose a sales tax over a property tax so the costs would be split not only among city residents but everyone who visits or shops in Port Angeles.

One person spoke during the public hearing for the ordinance.

John Ralston of Port Angeles cited information from the ALICE report, which showed 10 percent of Washington households are defined as being in poverty while an additional 27 percent of the state’s homes are in financial hardship.

“These households are ALICE, so they’re asset limited, income constrained, and they are employed but they don’t earn enough to afford the basic expenses in the county for where they live,” Ralston said. “… Can I afford these taxes? Certainly. I’m concerned about the people that this is going to be affecting their households.”

Port Angeles Finance Director Sarina Carrizosa has said the sales tax increase is expected to amount to an average annual increase per household of $20.60. If the city had decided to fund the officers with a property tax levy, that would have been an estimated average annual household increase of $49.60.

After the tax goes into effect, the public will be able to track it on the city website’s open budget portal, and information about how much has been brought in and what it’s being spent on would be included during revenue sources discussions, Carrizosa said.

In terms of policing the city, Smith said the four new officers will make a big difference.

“I know you’ll see a visible difference once we get those four officers trained and up on the patrol teams,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting also featured a one-hour special budget goals work session during which Carrizosa presented information from a survey that city council members and city department leaders filled out.

The work session was the first step in the city’s budgeting process for 2027.

One question asked on the survey was, “What percentage of general tax dollars in the general fund should support the following: public safety, parks, streets, community development, public works administration and engineering, city utilities including Medic 1, administrative services, support for community partners?”

The council and city leadership were fairly closely aligned, with the largest percentages going to public safety (46 percent from the council, 45 percent from leadership), parks (10 percent from the council, 13 percent from leadership), streets (10 percent from the council, 11 percent from leadership) and administrative services (11 percent from council, 9 percent from leadership).

“Council and leadership are aligned in their goals, which is a very positive outlook,” Carrizosa said.

In actuality, public safety receives 62.8 percent of the general fund while parks gets 17.5 percent and administrative services gets 13.3 percent.

If reductions are needed to the 2027 budget, about 50 percent of the council favored the “Other” answer, which was “prioritize reductions based on outcomes and the city’s core responsibilities,” according to the presentation. “Eliminate or redesign lower-priority programs first, seek efficiencies across departments, and reduce services only after those options have been exhausted. Across-the-board percentage cuts should be a last resort because they don’t reflect strategic priorities.”

The majority of the council stressed the importance of public safety, investment in parks infrastructure and keeping utility rates affordable.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.