Pierce County's Behavioral Health Tax Goes Into Effect

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — You may notice your regular shopping tab just got a tiny bit more expensive this week in Pierce County.

That's because as of July 1, the county's new behavioral health tax has gone into effect, adding an additional sales tax of 0.1% to your purchases.

How exactly your new sales tax is calculated may vary depending on local sales taxes. For example, in Lakewood, the sales tax has risen from 9.9% percent to a clean 10.0%.

The behavioral health tax has been a long time in the making, tracing back to 2016 when the county first recognized it had a greater need for behavioral health programs than the rest of Washington state. Several taxes to fund new behavioral health programs were proposed in the years since, but it wasn't until March that the county council approved this 0.1% tax hike.

The tax is expected to generate $12 million each year for the county, money that proponents like co-sponsor and Council Vice Chair Dave Morell say will be well spent improving mental health services across the region.

"We have protected taxpayers by requiring development of a strategic plan for behavioral health response, including a performance audit review, a date for when the tax collection will end and a data platform to show where the money is being spent efficiently and effectively with measurable results," Morell said back when the tax was first approved.

Here are the programs that tenth of a percent tax will finance:

• A Mobile Community Intervention Response Team, a team of first responders who will provide a countywide response to behavioral health crises.
• Intensive Services for Youth, three teams who will provide behavioral health services to children and young adults under 21.
• Expanded Behavioral Health Services in Underserved School Districts, which will fund mental health care managers in several underserved districts.
• Crisis Services for Adults, expanding crisis intervention and crisis residential services.
• Assisted Outpatient Treatment, so those in need of help don't have to use expensive inpatient crisis services.
• Recovery Housing Assistance, funding counseling, short-term housing and other support systems for mentally ill individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Behavioral Health Services for Veterans, expanding the programs provided by the Cohen Military Family Clinic in Lakewood.
• Criminal Justice Diversion Services, a program to help the mentally ill by diverting them away from the criminal justice system and into treatment.

According to the ordinance, most of these programs will save money and time for other emergency programs by cutting down on first responder service hours, reducing involuntary hospitalizations and lowering the use of emergency rooms in hospitals.