Thursday, October 1, 2026
Lacey property owners will see a slight rise in taxes next year after the Lacey City Council approved two measures establishing collections for 2026.
The Lacey City Council unanimously authorized a 1% property tax increase via Resolution 1177. The increase is permitted under state law.
The city council also adopted the 2026 general levy and voter approved general obligation parks improvement bond via Ordinance 1685. The council made the decisions at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The city will now transmit the newly certified tax data to the Thurston County Assessor’s Office ahead of the Nov. 30 deadline required for all taxing districts.
The levy action follows a Nov. 3 public hearing in which the city reviewed revenue sources for the 2026 current expense budget, which funds ongoing services but excludes capital projects, utility operations, enterprise funds and special assessments.
According to the city, the Thurston County Assessor calculated $13.59 billion in assessed value for the general levy and $13.42 billion for the park improvement bond levy.
The valuations establish the base for computing levy rates and show a $386.47 million total increase in assessed value across Lacey for 2026, including $313.19 million from existing properties and $73.28 million in new construction.
Prior to the council’s vote, acting Financial Services Manager Chelsea Yarwood provided a fiscal walkthrough of the 2026 levy structure and how the city arrived at the projected amount of $9,524,254 in general property tax collections.
She said the general levy increase is made up of the 1% revenue limit, the value added from new construction, and the refund levy resulting from assessment appeals, technical errors or exemptions during the prior year.
Taken together, the adjustments raise the total by $251,320 over 2025 tax collections.
Yarwood said the 1% increase is the maximum permitted under state law. Property tax revenues account for 12.8% of all proposed 2026 general fund resources.
The 2026 general levy rate is set at $0.7008 per $1,000 of assessed value. The parks bond levy is set at $0.02712 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Yarwood said the impact of the general levy and bond levy on a typical Lacey home is about $7.36 for the year.
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TryingToUnderstand
During the last election, my ballot did not give me the option to vote for candidates for the Lacey City Council. Hm... so is my property not impacted?
And as an aside - driving along Marvin Way and seeing one new development after another, along with all the other development going on in Lacey, why is there a need for a higher percentage? Should the cost not go down as more and more and more property owners are sharing in the cost of the things needed to live here?
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