Ballots are arriving in the mail for the Nov. 8 general election, and some voters in Lewis and Thurston counties will get to weigh in on local ballot measures. Below is a roundup of the measures that affect voters in Lewis and South Thurston counties, with information taken from previous Chronicle coverage of the measures and the local voters’ guides.
An online voters’ guide is also available at www.votewa.gov.
Voters can access the VoteWA website by logging in with their name and date of birth. When logging into VoteWA, voters will only be able to view measures that they are
eligible to vote on.
For questions or more information, Lewis County voters can visit https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/. Thurston County voters can visit https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/auditor/Pages/elections-home.aspx.
Lewis County Fire District 10 - Packwood
• Measure: Emergency Medical Services Property Tax Levy
• Ask: Renew a regular property tax levy of 25 cents or less per $1,000.00 of assessed value for a period of six consecutive years, to be collected beginning in 2023, for the purpose of continuing funding emergency medical services for its citizens.
• To Pass: Needs a simple majority of 50% of the vote plus one.
• If Passed: Approval of the levy will enable District 10 to maintain its current level of emergency medical services, according to the fire district. The revenue from this levy will be used by District 10 exclusively for emergency medical services.
• If Failed: District 10’s existing levy will expire at the end of this year without a replacement in place.
• Background: District 10 voters approved a six year emergency medical services property tax levy at a 25 cent or less per $1,000 of assessed value in 2016.
City of Morton
• Measure: Withdrawal From Intercounty Library District
• Ask: A proposal to withdraw the City of Morton from the Timberland Regional Library District of Lewis County.
• To Pass: Needs a simple majority of 50% of the vote plus one.
• If Passed: The City of Morton will withdraw from the library district and each parcel of real property located within the City of Morton will not be charged the applicable property tax assessment on an annual basis.
• If Failed: The City of Morton will remain in the library district and each parcel of real property not otherwise exempt will continue to be charged the applicable property tax assessment on an annual basis. The rate for 2022 was approximately 28 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
• Background: The Timberland Regional Library is an inter-county rural library district with locations in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties. The Timberland Regional Library has six full locations and two kiosks in Lewis County.
In the November 2012 election, a majority of voters within the City of Morton voted to be annexed into the Timberland Regional Library. Since that annexation took effect in 2014, each parcel of non-exempt, real property located in the City of Morton has had a portion of property taxes assessed for the benefit of the Timberland Regional Library. However, the closest full locations to Morton are in Randle and Salkum, and the closest kiosk is located at the Centralia College East Campus. The Morton City Council approved a proposal on July 13 to put the decision on whether to withdraw in the Timberland Regional Library district before the voters.
West Thurston Regional Fire Authority
• Measures: West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Property Tax Levy For Maintenance and Operation Expenses. There are separate ballot measures for Rochester and Little Rock voters.
• Ask: Authorize the fire district to levy a property tax upon all taxable property within the district at a rate of $1.71 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2023, $1.63 for 2024, $1.55 for 2025 and $1.48 for 2026, for maintenance and operations.
• To Pass: Both Rochester and Little Rock measures require a super majority of 60% of the vote plus one to pass. The fire authority has previously stated it will not levy any amount if the measure passes in one district and fails in the other.
• If Passed: The fire authority will have the funding needed to maintain its current level of services.
• If Failed: The fire authority’s existing levy will expire at the end of 2022 without a replacement in place. Without replacing funding, layoffs of firefighter/EMT(s) and closing fire stations may be necessary, which will impact the rescue, emergency medical and fire suppression response capability to the entire region, according to statements included in the voter’s pamphlet.
• Background: West Thurston Regional Fire Authority’s current expiring rate is 83 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. West Thurston Fire’s board of commissioners calculated the ballot request based on the fire authority’s current needs and projected increased call volumes over the next few years. This election marks West Thurston Regional Fire Authority’s second attempt to pass its maintenance and operation levy. The two ballot measures on the August 2022 primary ballot both garnered over 50% of the vote but failed to reach the required super majority. If West Thurston Fire tries for the levy again in 2023 and passes it then, the fire authority won’t be able to collect the levy until the following year.
