Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Tumwater City Council approved a resolution supporting the Timberland Regional Library's ballot measure for a levy lid lift.
If passed by voters in the Nov. 3 General Election, the levy rate would increase to $0.35 from $0.22 per $1,000 of assessed property value beginning in 2027.
The levy lid lift would generate approximately $14 million in operating revenue in the first year, data shows.
At a council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, Andrea Heisel, interim Executive Director of the Timberland Regional Library, said the funds would help the libary system return to a healthy fund balance.
As of January 2026, the library system was out of compliance with a policy requiring it to have a beginning fund balance of at least 30 percent of expenses.
Heisel said without the levy lid lift, the library system's fund balance would continue to decline and drop into the negative territory by 2028.
Timberland Regional Library attributes the state of its finances to the gradual decline of its levy rate since 2001 after Washington state started capping annual property tax revenue growth at 1 percent following the passage of Initiative 747.
Because tax revenue is capped at 1 percent growth regardless of property appreciation, the library system’s levy tax rate has compressed from its statutory maximum of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in 2001 to its current rate of 22 cents per $1,000.
That is a major concern for Timberland Regional Library, which relies almost entirely on property taxes for revenue. Property taxes accounted for 96 percent of its 2026 budget.
Washington state allows taxing districts to go above the 1 percent cap through a levy lid lift, which the library system put before voters in 2009. That effort failed.
Heisel mentioned they have other funding sources, including timber revenue, which she noted has been on a decline and highly variable each year. The library system also draws revenue from miscellaneous fees, gifts and donations.
Beyond restoring cash reserves, the new funding would improve services by bringing back staffing levels so libraries can stay open for more hours, as well as increase spending on its collections to reduce waiting time on popular titles. The new funds would also address deferred maintenance on facilities.
Heisel said the library system has turned to voluntary and involuntary layoffs, alongside cuts to collections spending, in an effort to bridge a $3.6 million funding gap.
Ballots will be being being mailed to registered voters in Thurston County in the second week of October. The levy lid lift requires a simple majority to pass.
Timberland Regional Library serves Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties through 29 libraries, mobile services and online resources.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the ballot distribution period.
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Honestyandrealityguy
I don't know anyone who personally budgets like that. We need to cover our expenses. If taxes continue to increase this way, ultimately, they will be 100% of our property value. Common sense please.
Friday, September 18 Report this
OlyBlues
Of course the city of Tumwater who is currently spending way beyond their own means would support MORE unnecessary taxes! If TRL had years of good fiscal practices to stand on, they may have a better chance at running this levy. Unfortunately for TRL, their years of mismanagement and expenditures exceeding revenue by over $3 million dollars as of 2026 has caught up with them and they expect taxpayers to not only bail them out but reward them for this behavior. When you couple this with the fact Thurston County residents are already paying $9 MILLION more in taxes to TRL than the other counties, mostly to fund their bloated administrative costs and subsidize the small rural libraries in other counties, this is an easy NO vote. TRL is not a mandated service like police, fire, and schools who are already bleeding us dry with their levies. TRL must reign in the spending, cut admin costs, and reevaluate the funding structure that unfairly relies on Thurston County residents to be overtaxed to fund their operation.
Saturday, September 19 Report this
Tanker1982
Spot on for both comments
Saturday, September 19 Report this
BobJacobs
The Timberland Regional Library District is funded almost exclusively by property taxes. Property taxes are limited by state law to a slightly more than 1% year-over-year increase. With inflation running between 2% and 4% annually, it is obvious that library revenues cannot even keep up with inflationary costs for current services, let alone increase service levels.
An occasional levy lid lift is necessary for the library budget to just keep up with inflation.
This is true for at least some of the other special purpose governments, e.g., fire districts.
General purpose governments are different in that they have other sources of revenue that can help make up for the property tax limitation. In the city of Olympia, for instance, the largest revenue source is sales taxes. And utility taxes and business and occupations taxes also are significant.
The levy lid lift on the ballot is a necessity if we are to have a functioning library system.
Bob Jacobs
Saturday, September 19 Report this
wellnow77
Totally agree with Bob Jacobs.
Saturday, September 19 Report this
jimlazar
If property taxes kept up with inflation, this measure would not be necessary.
President Trump is driving inflation: deficit spending over $1 trillion per year; the war in Iran driving up gasoline prices; failure to control the pharma companies and insurance companies on health care costs; tariffs driving up the cost of groceries, housing, and appliances;
Because property taxes for TRL can only increase 1% per year, and inflation is running at more like 3% per year, this voted levy lid lift is needed.
It will bring the TRL levy rate back up to $35 / $100,000 of home value. That's about what it was in 2019, before Covid. It's nowhere close to the $50 / $100,000 of home value where it was in 2001.
We get a lot of value from the library. It needs our help. Vote YES.
Sunday, September 20 Report this
36098501
I don’t think many people enjoy paying property taxes, but if we are going to discuss public tax finance, those who claim to speak with authority on local governance ought to present the mechanics accurately.
A persistent misconception repeatedly recited in council chambers, commissioner meetings, TRL board meetings, local media and public comment threads is that total property tax revenue is capped at 1% annual growth.
It isn’t. Never has been. The 1% limitation DOES NOT apply to total property-tax revenue growth.
It only applies to the growth of a taxing district’s regular levy. New construction, property improvements, certain statutory additions, and voter-approved levies can add property-tax revenue substantially BEYOND the 1% limitation – and they have in Thurston County.
Revenue from new construction, property improvements, and statutory additions regularly push revenue growth well beyond 1%. Across Thurston County, total property tax revenue grew 26.54% between 2018 and 2024, outpacing inflation of 24.81%.
The real concern would be if new construction and some of these other sources actually do trend toward zero. Then, we would be stuck with 1% growth. This is another reason communities should find ways to encourage new construction and reduce the time and cost of building bureaucracy.
Even without a levy lift, Timberland Regional Library’s (TRL) property tax revenue grew by 2.5% to 3.5% annually over that same time frame, yielding a 19.75% total increase. While TRL’s revenue lagged the post-COVID inflation spike by roughly 5%, its revenue grew more than three times faster than the 6.15% that the "1% revenue cap" myth implies.
TRL is asking voters to approve a 59% levy rate increase. This will raise an additional $14 million a year from property taxpayers in the community.
What is particularly troubling is seeing people the community trusts - current and former elected officials, long-time committee veterans, and self-appointed civic and economic experts - repeat this 1% myth, or worse, divert the important conversation into national partisan grievances that are not only not relevant, but also not accurate.
I agree with the concerns about inflation, but those concerns have yet to materialize. Even with the nation dealing with so many global economic uncertainties, current inflation has not surpassed the substantially higher inflation experienced during the post-COVID years of 2021-2024. 2025 was 2.7%. YTD 2026 is 3.4%. Inflation peaked at 8% in 2022.
I would certainly like less inflation. I would like to make the community more affordable. I would like to ease the burden of taxes on those who can least afford them. I prefer fewer property taxes to more property taxes.
One commenter cited national inflation as justification for the property-tax increase – a very odd political argument even for Washington. “I’m super mad at the current idiots running the federal government and very concerned about all the inflation being caused by inept federal agencies. However, I’m in favor of raising more taxes for the local library that has mismanaged its finances to the point of essentially needing a $14mm bailout to remain viable.”
Review cost-push inflation, irony and sciolistic.
I love books. I love a good library, as do most people.
Unfortunately, TRL has demonstrated that now is the time for them to reinvent themselves to fit within the needs and budget of the community it serves. Given how the library got to this point, it would be irresponsible to give the current leadership and board considerably more money every year to not manage appropriately.
Tuesday, September 22 Report this