Island County leaders are banding together to pressure state leaders for a fair share of marijuana sales tax revenue.

The move is part of a larger protest from law enforcement and county leaders from around the state who are tired of the state and federal government rolling out new requirements that county’s must fund, implement and enforce.

“Counties are agents of the state,” said Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, who was on the capitol steps in Olympia Thursday advocating for increased funding for counties.

“These things continue to thwart the county’s abilities.”

Washington became the second state implement legalized recreational marijuana last year through bill I-502, but not all leaders agree on where the newly-generated sales tax money should go.

Island County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition sent a letter to state legislators protesting the lack of local funding to local government. The state budget currently proposes giving counties and cities just 6 percent of all marijuana sales tax to share state wide.

“Once it gets to the local level, it’s going to be very low,” Price Johnson said.

The coalition came together last year in response to the rise of property crime and drug abuse on the island and wants to be proactive about pot use, Price Johnson said.

The group believes 6 percent of the marijuana sales tax for counties is unreasonable and unfair.

“Of the eight mandates for legalized marijuana from the federal government, five fall to local governments,” said the letter signed by Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy who chairs the coalition. “The new tax revenue generated from the emerging marijuana industry must be shared with local government in a way that reflects the responsibility reflected there.”

Commissioner Jill Johnson was against allowing marijuana to be grown and sold in Island County, but eventually voted to support it to reflect the wishes of voters.

“When folks passed I-502 there was an expectation that the tax dollars being collected would aid in enforcement at the local level, for the state to take 94 percent of the revenue is counter to the desires of the voters,” Johnson said. “What the state is doing by continuing to take and reduce revenue that was originally split with counties is confounding.”

“It’s like the legislature doesn’t realize that county government is an arm of the state and they are asking us to work for free,” she said. “County costs for delivering service aren’t reducing so why are our payments for providing those services being cut?”

Sheriff Mark Brown, who expressed concerns about legalized marijuana’s impact on public safety from the beginning, said he hopes to find a “workable” compromise that will give his department the resources they need to keep the county safe.

“I totally think the counties need to get this money and a large part of it should go toward enforcement,” Brown said. In addition, money should also be funneled into the health department for chemical dependency treatment and community education.

“There’s different areas this needs to be invested in,” Brown said.

Brown said he is also pushing for combining medical and recreational marijuana retailers to create a one-stop-shop scenario that would make enforcement simpler.

Price Johnson said the state has a history of sunsetting or rolling back tax funding to local governments, including those for alcohol sales and Medicaid reimbursement rates.

In response to that, Price Johnson said counties are also advocating for raising the cap on property tax increases. Currently counties can only raise property taxes by 1 percent per year, even as inflation and operating costs increase by 3-5 percent.

“If we don’t have the resources locally to (provide services), it’s going to be a big challenge,” Price Johnson said.