Who is paying for these misleading Franklin County ‘vote no’ signs and are they illegal?

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Campaign signs are popping up across areas of Franklin County encouraging voters to reject a proposed a sales tax to fix its failing 911 communications systems.

But are they legal?

The signs read "Vote No on Prop #1 . No new taxes. $20M for radios."

Washington law requires that campaign signs list who is sponsoring them and that the money spent on them is publicly reported.

The problem is these signs don't appear to meet Washington Public Disclosure Commission campaign standards and no one is taking credit for them.

Misleading signs

After a change went into effect this summer, the PDC requires all campaign signs to include disclosure of who paid for them.

Previously that only applied to large signs. These signs do not list a committee on the front or the back of either the small or large signs that the Herald found posted around the county from Pasco to Eltopia.

A "Pro" committee supporting the measure has its information on file with the PDC .

But there is no public record of anyone forming a "Con" committee to write against the tax for the state voters' guide. And it appears no one has acknowledged paying for the signs opposing the measure.

The commission can only make a ruling on whether a sign violates rules if an official complaint is made or investigation opened.

Violations of PDC rules can result in a variety of actions ranging from requiring someone to fix the problem or fining the campaign or person up to $10,000 per violation.

Just last week, the commission fined former governor candidate Semi Bird of Richland for failing to include his Republican party preference on campaign T-shirts and on social media accounts.

In the case of the signs in Franklin County, the PDC could also investigate whether undisclosed contributions were made to pay for the signs.

These types of signs can be expensive, with candidates spending thousands on them.

For example, Republican Signs , which has been used by some local candidates, charges $168 for packs of 50 smaller signs or 12 of the 32" by 48" signs.

Failing 911 system

The signs also appear to be intentionally misleading.

While a portion of the sales tax would go to replacing radios because they are moving from a VHF system to 800 MHZ, the vast majority of the funds will be used to pay for 911 tower infrastructure .

That infrastructure is currently failing.

County workers became reliant on using eBay to find replacement parts, but they're no longer able to reliably find them online, BCES Director Jay Atwood told Franklin County leaders earlier this year.

If those tower components fail, it could leave large swaths of Franklin County without coverage for emergency radios. They're currently experiencing an average of four part failures each month.

The time it takes to get a tower back to full functionality depends on whether they have a replacement on hand, how long it would take to ship if they can find the part online and how long it takes to get a technician out for repairs.

Pro Committee Chair Mike Miller said that's time Franklin County residents can't afford if they're involved in an emergency.

It's an issue decades in the making .

Originally the plan was to start this process in 2020, but that was pushed to the backburner when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Estimated costs

Atwood said that as of this summer, the latest cost estimate they've received from Motorola was $17 million for the infrastructure, if all of their requests were included.

That price tag did not include subscriber units and radios.

New sites they'd like to add to ensure optimal coverage would cost an additional estimated $2 million each for the infrastructure.

The price tag for the radios is unknown at this time because they do not have a full count of how many they'd need. The preliminary count given was for all radios the fire stations had on hand, including outdated and not in-use units.

To replace every single unit, he estimated it could cost up to $9 million, but Atwood reiterated that number would likely come in significantly lower once they knew how many units actually need to be replaced.

His best estimate at the time is at least $2-3 million less.

Those are just the upfront costs. Benton County currently has a plan with Motorola that lets it upgrade radios and equipment as needed as part of an annual fee. It also doesn't include radio airwave licensing fees.

Those radio costs would also go directly to helping fire districts that could otherwise not afford the purchases.

Franklin County fire districts have had a number of levy lid lift failures in recent years and their budgets are feeling the pinch.

Fire District 1, which serves the Connell area, has a lid lift on the November ballot. They're asking for a lid lift for the first time just to keep operations going. Their area also is one of the worst for radio dead spots.

This sales tax would ensure that fire districts like them don't have to ask for additional property tax increases just to fund their radio upgrades.

As it is, the districts are struggling to afford staffing and new equipment as the Tri-Cities grows and their calls for service balloon.

Their budgets are restricted to a 1% increase per year, unless they put a levy lid lift on the ballot, no matter how much property value goes up.

So far the majority of fire and law enforcement agencies in the area have offered their support for the sales tax. The city of Pasco has as well.

The Franklin County commissioners have not yet publicly supported the proposition.

Just getting the item on ballots was a contentious process that lasted most of the year, with a decision finally made days before the filing deadline .

Commissioners Rocky Mullen and Clint Didier both have expressed doubt that it will pass.

Voters are being asked whether to approve a 0.02 cent sales tax, which would amount to 2 cents on a $10 purchase.

That's the same rate that Pasco voters approved to fund the aquatic facility being built in the Broadmoor development.

That 911 communications tax would then drop to 0.01 cents after three years.

The tax on sales in Franklin County would raise an estimated $21 million over three years and then drop to $3.5 million a year based on current sales predictions.

The tax is separate from the E-911 tax on phone bills, which pays for dispatch related services. The 911 Communications Sales Tax can only be used for infrastructure and radios.

There are a number of sales tax exemptions, ranging from food and medicine to some major purchases like farm equipment.

Franklin County ballots for the Nov. 5 election are due to be mailed by Oct. 15.