The Olympia City Council passed a resolution on Tuesday, Oct. 6, formally supporting the Timberland Regional Library’s (TRL) levy lid lift proposal.
The proposal, titled Proposition 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 average homeowner would pay an estimated $53 more per year if the measure is approved.
The levy lid lift is TRL’s solution to a $3.8 million budget shortfall that has led to layoffs, the resignation of former Executive Director Cheryl Heywood, and the departure of two senior employees who spoke disparagingly about board members and patrons in messages that later became public.
The TRL Board of Trustees, TRL administrators, staff and patrons generally agree that TRL needs to pass a levy lid lift by the end of 2027 to stabilize TRL’s budget and prevent further layoffs.
The resolution passed by the Olympia City Council on Tuesday recognizes that TRL “provides essential library services to residents throughout the region.”
Those services directly benefit Olympia residents via the Olympia Timberland Library, the city stated.
Several Olympia community members spoke in favor of the resolution during a public hearing ahead of the city council’s vote on Tuesday. No one spoke out in opposition.
“What I've found living in Thurston County and in Olympia is how central libraries are to the social life of so many Olympians,” one public commenter, Soap Khan, said.
“Our libraries are in trouble,” another public commenter, Jim Lazar, stated. “This measure will help a lot. This measure, if passed by the voters, will help restore operating hours, help pay for books, e-books, and videos, and ensure that services are available to everyone.”
The City of Olympia’s resolution recognized TRL’s current financial struggles and that the levy lid lift is necessary to ensure that the library district can maintain its current level of service.
“The Olympia City Council believes that maintaining strong library services contributes
positively to the quality of life enjoyed by Olympia residents,” the resolution reads.
The Tumwater City Council passed a similar resolution on Sept. 15 supporting TRL’s levy lid lift proposal.
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.
The measure needs a simple majority from the combined voter pool to pass.
