Yakima County’s 0.1% gross sales tax to offer psychological well being companies appeared like a fairly easy thought again in 2019.
Commissioners on the time — Mike Leita, Ron Anderson and the late Norm Childress — had broad assist for the plan, which concerned changing the Pacific Avenue jail close to State Truthful Park into what they have been tentatively calling the Yakima County Care Campus.
The ten-acre campus was to be a one-stop service middle for individuals experiencing homelessness or psychological well being points — a everlasting shelter, therapy for psychological well being and substance abuse. The works.
Psychological well being professionals have been in favor. Legislation enforcement, court docket and corrections individuals have been in favor.
The countywide tax didn’t require a public vote, so commissioners handed it unanimously that October and the county started accumulating funds the next April.
Backslaps and handshakes throughout, proper?
Nicely … not so quick. Paperwork is a cussed beast.
Now, after accumulating cash from the tax for almost three years — about $13 million at newest depend — no person’s positive how one can spend any of it.
The Pacific Avenue campus thought seems to be unfeasible — too costly to retrofit the constructing right into a care campus, and present zoning guidelines would apparently forbid it anyway. The positioning can also be inside the Yakima Greenway overlay, and Greenway officers don’t need it anyplace close to leisure areas.
So discuss has turned to directing the cash towards designated disaster responders to help regulation enforcement officers. Maybe psychological well being specialists may accompany officers answering calls involving individuals experiencing psychological well being crises. Or perhaps a number of the cash may go towards psychological well being court docket.
In brief, what appeared like a good suggestion has turned out to be much more difficult than anybody thought.
Hindsight, they are saying, is 20/20. Sadly, it’s additionally form of moot at this level.
The reality is that as well-intentioned because the plan was again in 2019, it doesn’t seem to be anybody thought it via very nicely earlier than imposing the tax on the general public. The questions and obstacles that native officers are battling right this moment ought to’ve been settled way back.
Alternatively, although, a multimillion-dollar fund — nonetheless and every time it’s tapped — ought to supply some tangible options to an issue that’s plagued the group for years. For that, we needs to be grateful to the earlier board of commissioners.
Meantime, Yakima County Human Providers Director Esther Magasis, who has commissioned a examine to find out the county’s biggest psychological well being wants, hopes to supply the present commissioners some particular suggestions by March.
As after-the-fact as that’s, we hope it’ll information the board to an efficient technique that’ll begin exhibiting outcomes quickly.
Yakima Herald-Republic editorials mirror the collective opinion of the newspaper’s native editorial board.
