(The Center Square) – Around 20 officers short, Spokane Valley needs more funding to expand its police force, but the city might have shot itself in the foot with its immigration policy.
Gov. Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 2015 on Monday, delivering on a day-one promise to put $100 million behind police recruiting during his first year in office. The law creates a .01% local sales tax that voters can approve in addition to two other existing public safety taxes.
If a municipality levies any of the three taxes, it opens the door to grant funding for new officers and other public safety personnel. However, one provision of HB 2015 requires local governments to adopt policies aligning with what many critics call Washington state’s “sanctuary” law…