Following a public hearing, members of the Tumwater City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Timberland Regional Library (TRL) District levy lid lift, also known as Proposition No. 1, During their regular meeting on Sept. 15.
Proposition No. 1 will be on the ballot during the upcoming Nov. 3 general election. If approved by voters, the measure will raise TRL’s property tax levy rate from $0.22 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $0.35 per $1,000. The proposition will be on the ballot for voters not only in Thurston County, but throughout the entire TRL system in Lewis, Grays Harbor, Mason and Pacific counties.
On hand during the Sept. 15 meeting in Tumwater was interim TRL Executive Director Andrea Heisel, there to explain why they were asking voters to lift the levy lid. The request comes after a somewhat tumultuous year for the TRL. Following the announcement of a $3.8 million budget deficit at the beginning of this year, former TRL Executive Director Cheryl Heywood resigned after public outrage over proposed involuntary staff layoffs.
Since then, Heisel said staff reductions have been made through both voluntary and involuntary layoffs, and other staff have been furloughed. A recruitment process to find a new full-time executive director is also ongoing.
“We have saved $3.6 million, estimated. Finally, we have worked on accountability from the top down,” Heisel said.
She added efforts to increase transparency have been made, with meetings now being broadcast online to enable remote attendance, and a new accounting system with finance projections going four years out into the future.
As for the levy lift itself, Heisel said 96% of TRL’s budget revenue is generated through property taxes, and the last time the levy was lifted was 25 years ago, when it was raised all the way to $0.50 per $1,000 assessed value and declined ever since.
“Our last levy attempt lift was in 2009, and that failed,” said Heisel.
For the average Thurston County homeowner, Heisel estimated an increase of about $53 a year in property taxes if the levy lift is approved. Like the 2001 levy lid lift, once the rate is increased, it will eventually decrease again.
“For the first two years, it will be at that increased rate, and then it starts slowly declining again over time,” Heisel said.
Should voters approve the levy lid lift, the extra revenue generated will go toward paying staff and increasing hours, collection efforts and building maintenance.
Following the council’s approval of the resolution supporting Proposition No. 1, councilors also approved an ordinance delegating bond issuing authority to city finance staff, and an interlocal agreement (ILA) with the cities of Olympia and Lacey and Thurston County to pool and transfer funding toward the construction of the Franz Anderson Road permanent supportive housing (PSH) development.
The bond delegation ordinance allows city staff to directly coordinate with bond counsel, advisers and underwriters to secure bonds to finance major capital projects the Tumwater City Council is considering. Some current proposals include the purchase of a new building for Tumwater City Hall and remodeling the Tumwater Fire Department fire station.
Bonds will allow city staff to spread out the cost of the projects over time to manage the city’s cash flow and maintain city services, according to Tumwater Finance Director Troy Niemeyer.
As for the ILA for the Franz Anderson Road PSH development, the City of Tumwater has already set aside $275,000 of budget general funds to support it per a previously approved ILA in 2023.
Plans for the development include the construction of a total of 70 studio and one-bedroom PSH units, plus one unit for an on-site manager and at least 30 of the units being accessible for those with disabilities, located on Franz Anderson Road in Olympia.
PSH is reserved for households with income at or below 30% of the area median income.
Along with being approved in Tumwater, the ILA was also up for approval in Olympia and Lacey. Tumwater Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff said the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners would be voting on it by the end of the month.
During the Sept. 15 meeting, proclamations were also made declaring Oct. 1-8 to be a Week Without Driving in Tumwater — meant to highlight the challenges faced by those with disabilities and others who can’t drive along with promoting public safety and crosswalk awareness — and Oct. 4-10 to be Fire Prevention Week in Tumwater.
