A new 0.1 percent sales tax in the city of Vancouver will raise an estimated $7 million a year to expand public access to arts, culture, heritage and science.

In December, the Vancouver City Council approved the new sales tax and the creation of a cultural access grant program designed to give people throughout the city more equitable access to arts and culture events, festivals, workshops, exhibits, performances, and field trips.

Vancouver is the fifth jurisdiction in Washington to take advantage of the state’s 10-year-old Cultural Access Program , which allows cities and counties to adopt a 0.1 percent sales tax to provide grants to nonprofit organizations involved in arts, culture and science endeavors.

The cities of Tacoma and Olympia , as well as King and San Juan count

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