Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Stephanie Nanavich, Yelm finance director, held the City of Yelm’s first public hearing in regards to the 2026 ad valorem property tax levy during a Yelm City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and recommended that the city not increase the property tax levy by 1% next year.
No action was taken during the meeting. Thurston County provided the assessed valuation and property tax worksheet for the purpose of calculating the ad valorem property tax for fiscal year 2026. The city elected to not take the 1% increase, and will hold two public hearings as required. It is also required to pass an ordinance adopting the 2026 property tax by November 30, 2025.
How are your tax dollars distributed in Thurston County?
Local schools: 37.32%
Port of Olympia: 1.24%
Cities and towns: 7.46%
P.U.D. no. 1: .06%
County: 8.39%
Cemetery districts: .04%
Timberland Library: 2.33%
State schools: 22.92%
Road district: 3.43%
Fire districts: 11.63%
Medic One: 3.4%
Park districts: 1.46%
Land conservation futures: .27%
“I get a lot of questions of do we take the one percent, or do we not take the one percent? We’re proposing not to take the 1% (increase),” Nanavich said. “Last year, our levy was $1,802,116. To that, we will add the value of new construction, which is $56,022, and then we have a re-levy of prior years of $28,000. Our total levy that we’re proposing in our budget is $1,855,360.”
With that, Yelm will have a banked capacity of $71,849 for future use. Nanavich noted those dollars are available for levy in the future, and aren’t collected but rather serve as an available capacity.
Councilor Tracey Wood told Nanavich that he wanted some clarity, and asked why the banked capacity would be lower if the city took the 1% increase? She also asked what kind of impact there would be on an individual’s property tax if the city didn’t take the increase.
“Because you have decided to take that one-percent in 2026 and not reserve it for future use. You’re just moving that $18,000 from one spot to the other,” she said. “(Property tax) has increased less. You’re not increasing their property tax by that $18,000-per-1,000.”
“That goes back three years,” Nanavich said. “Every year you don’t take the 1%, your bank capacity increases by that 1%. Right now, I calculated it out with the numbers we currently have, that our levy rate is about .97 cents per $1,000. Our max levy rate would be $1.60 per $1,000. We have got a long way to go to get to that $1.60, unless the economy goes insane. We have a lot of leeway. I mean years.”
