Good to see that our tax dollars will have some social benefit! Almost all of the Olympia tax shifts (that's right, its not really an exemption because the "lost" tax revenue is shifted to the remaining Olympia tax payers) have been for market rate 8-year exemptions.
What would be really better is if Olympia City Council decided to use the Olympia area median income rather than the Thurston Couny median. Olympia residents have about a 17% lower AMI than the county. In 2021, Thurston's was $81,501 ($39.18 an hour for someone with a full time job) while Olympia's AMI was $67,975.
Why the city doesn't set it at the City's AMI defies plausible explanation as their usual response is we always have. Yet, the Thurston Regional Planning Council has the numbers readily available.
Nevertheless, at least my increased property tax for this exemption will do some good in making housing more affordable.
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