Measure 1 is a criminal justice measure for Spokane County that would add a 0.2% sales tax on purchases. 60% of revenue would go to Spokane County Government, and 40% would be allocated to individual cities and towns.

Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan is against the measure, arguing that before this sales tax is imposed, the county needs to discuss the fine details of how exactly this money will be spent.

"We need to know, the voters deserve to know how much these things cost, which priorities are actually in the plan," Jordan said.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels argued in favor of Measure 1, saying that limited jail capacity limits law enforcement's ability to keep the community safe.

"There's a lot of things that drive crime rates and there's a lot of things we need to do to address them. Measure one allows us to fund an underfunded justice system here in the county of Spokane," Sheriff Nowels said.

Commissioner Jordan is pushing to invest time and money into educating and surveying the public before imposing this tax.

"We can send out surveys, we can engage people with lived experience, we can bring the corrections officers to the table, bring the experts to the table," Jordan said.

Sheriff Nowels responded by saying that since purchases won't be taxed until April, there will be time to plan once the measure is passed.

"What would prevent us from sitting down and saying, how much is each of these going to cost. This is a couple of weeks, not years. That's what you and I get elected to do," Nowels said.

Another topic of debate was the success rate of programs serving those with mental health and drug addiction issues.

If Measure 1 passes, that 0.2% increase on tax purchases would begin in April 2024 through the end of 2054. That means for every $10 spent in Spokane County, two cents would be collected.

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