Voters are likely to face a tough decision on their November General Election ballot.

Will they support a tax increase to continuing funding our county criminal justice system? Criminal justice — that’s the sheriff’s department, prosecuting attorneys and judges who help keep society safe. Most people are in favor of that.

Higher taxes are another matter. We doubt everyone is feeling flush enough these days to make this a slam-dunk decision.

The key, then, is finding the least painful way to pay for a needed service.

Reagan Dunn and Kathy Lambert – two Eastsiders who each represent portions of this area on the County Council — have come up with an plan to make the decision more palatable. They would boost the sales tax by two-tenths of one percent, but offset it with cuts to several levies that add to the property tax. They describe the bottom line as “revenue neutral.”

Yes, the sales tax bump will cost you more, but the trims to the property tax do a good job of offsetting that.

According to their estimates, if you own a $400,000 home, you’ll actually save $8 in 2011, the first year such a tax switch is in place. They propose the tax plan will sunset in three years and say the second and third years will see only a net tax increase of $6 each year.

Do the math and continuing the criminal justice system would cost that owner of the $400,000 home only $4 a year.

And after that? Well, we hope that county officials and union leaders can make some headway to stem the ongoing increase in wages and benefits that is putting the county is such a bind.

The Dunn-Lambert plan may not be the final package, but at the least it should be a starting point for thoughtful discussion by all nine members of the council.

No one wants to see the criminal justice system gutted. The key is to find a way to pay for the system that does the least damage to the majority of taxpayers.

We look forward to seeing how the council responds to the task of keeping county government functioning.