Whatcom County Public Safety / EMS Sales Tax (older 0.10%)
0.10% sales and use tax under the first increment of RCW 82.14.450. Voter-approved by Whatcom County voters and deposited in Fund 1240 (Countywide Emergency Medical Services, formerly Fund 130). Revenue is dedicated 2/3 ...
About this revenue source
0.10% sales and use tax under the first increment of RCW 82.14.450. Voter-approved by Whatcom County voters and deposited in Fund 1240 (Countywide Emergency Medical Services, formerly Fund 130).
Revenue is dedicated 2/3 to countywide emergency medical services and 1/3 to criminal-justice purposes. The criminal-justice portion is split 60% to the County and 40% to the incorporated cities by population. The County transfers $1.5 million per year from the criminal-justice portion to the General Fund to support Sheriff and Prosecuting Attorney operations.
This is the older, separately-authorized 0.10% increment of RCW 82.14.450. The Nov 2023 voter-approved "Justice Project" tax (0.20%, effective April 2024) is a separate increment under the same statute and is tracked as wha-co-public-safety-sales-tax.
Authorization
Statutory citation: RCW 82.14.450 (first 0.10% increment)