San Juan County Manager Mike Thomas brought a draft resolution in front of the county council that could help fund a radio upgrade for emergency services.
During its regular meeting on Dec. 3, the council was presented with a resolution to put a sales tax increase on the February ballot that would pay for improving outdated EMS communication. “We currently, obviously, don’t have this tax,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, there are 19 counties in Washington state that have this tax imposed. Grays Harbor County passed the same initiative in the most recent election to fund an upgrade to its radio system.
Washington state currently has a monthly tax of 95 cents per month on all landlines, wireless and Voice Over Internet Protocol services to fund emergency communication systems. Twenty-five cents goes to the state and each county gets 70 cents per account.