The Metropolitan King County Council approved a sales tax increase Tuesday, Oct. 6, in a 6-3 vote. The county says the added revenue is intended to expand emergency shelter options for children and families experiencing homelessness. Council members Rod Dembowski and Jorge Barón supported the measure. Reagan Dunn voted against it. The council’s action makes the tax increase a local funding tool for addressing an immediate need: shelter for families without stable housing. The vote does not, by itself, describe how many additional shelter spaces the revenue could support or when the increase will take effect.