There are three ballot propositions to be voted on in Lewis County this fall, but just one will go countywide while two others are specific to the Chehalis area and its neighbors.
For the first time in well over a decade, Lewis County voters, and those in four other counties, will be asked to consider an increase in the property tax revenue provided to the Timberland Regional Library system.
At the same time, Chehalis residents will be asked to renew a local sales tax to support transportation projects. In nearby Lewis County Fire District 6, residents will consider providing more tax revenue to the district, which serves a wide rural area starting west of Adna and extending to remote areas north of Onalaska.
Timberland Regional Library levy lid lift
The five-county regional library district that serves Lewis, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Mason and Thurston counties is asking for a levy lid lift to raise its property tax revenue by more than the yearly 1% allowed without the approval of voters.
Voting in favor of the proposition will allow the library to increase its property tax levy rate from the current rate of approximately $0.22 per $1,000 of assessed value to $0.35. Using The Chronicle headquarters building in downtown Centralia as an example, the rate would go from the lowest property tax levy rate in the downtown area, among 10 separate property tax levies, to the second lowest. It would sit above the Port of Centralia levy rate at $0.29 and below the Riverside Regional Fire Authority levy rate of $0.40.
It is the first time such a list has appeared on the ballot since 2009. If it is approved, it would be the first lift approved for the library system since 1987, according to its own records. That previously approved lift came before the state passed Initiative 747 limiting property tax revenue increases to 1% each year.
According to documents submitted in order to put the levy lid lift on the ballot, approval will allow the library district to “maintain current library services.” Failure of the levy would mean reductions in “open hours, access to collections, critical services such as early learning literacy, technology access” and more.
For recent Chronicle reporting on the levy lid lift, visit https://tinyurl.com/bddjnf84
Chehalis Transportation Benefit District sales and use tax
The city of Chehalis is seeking to renew an already existing two-tenths of one percent — 0.2% — sales tax that funds the local transportation benefit district. The district is managed by the city itself and funds local transportation projects, including street repairs, sidewalk improvements and pedestrian safety improvements.
That rate is just a third of the three-tenths of one percent — 0.3% — the city could seek to support the transportation district under state law.
The levy renewal seeks to approve the local sales and use tax for another 10 years after it was last approved in February 2017. The levy would begin collecting revenue on July 1 of summer 2027, as the previously approved levy expires, and would continue collecting through June 30, 2037.
In a presentation to the Chehalis City Council, which approved putting the proposal on the November ballot, city staff reported that the existing sales and use tax had collected $11.2 million since 2017 and allowed the city to pursue grant funding to the tune of more than $12 million in that same time period.
For recent reporting by The Chronicle on the transportation benefit district sales and use tax, visit https://tinyurl.com/y59k9ahr
Fire Protection District 6 levy lid lift
Lewis County Fire District 6, which straddles the Chehalis area on either side and passes between Napavine and Chehalis across Interstate 5, is seeking an increase in its property tax levy rate above the 1% yearly revenue increase allowed by state law.
Voting to approve the levy lid lift proposal would allow the district to increase its levy rate from the existing $0.79 per $1,000 in assessed value to $1.15. According to documents submitted in order to put the proposal on the November ballot, the district’s board of commissioners believes the rate increase is “essential and necessary for the protection and health and life of the residents.”
“The accelerated demands for, and increasing costs of, providing services will necessitate the expenditure of revenues for improved fire protection operations,” the district stated. “Replacing apparatus and equipment, firefighter recruitment and training and maintaining emergency medical service levels in excess of those which can be provided by the District’s regular tax revenue.”
Learn more at https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov.
