Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia City Council is reviving a discussion of a Fire Benefit Charge and seeking flexibility on property tax limits, as part of a draft 2026 legislative agenda the group is going to present to state legislators on Thursday, Jan. 8.
The council, joined by its lobbying firm Capitol Path, is scheduled to meet in person with Sen. Jessica Bateman, Rep. Lisa Parshley, and Rep. Beth Doglio of the 22nd Legislative District at 7:30 a.m. in council chambers.
The meeting is going to focus on a draft legislative agenda outlining 11 priorities, with emphasis on housing and homelessness, environmental infrastructure and financial stability.
According to the draft, Olympia continues to face revenue shortfalls driven by rising costs and limited revenue growth.
The city is requesting the state provide councilmanic authority on revenues to authorize cities to place Fire Benefit Charges on the ballot to fund extended services.
In 2023, Olympia and Tumwater voters rejected a proposal for a Regional Fire Authority, which included a Fire Benefit Charge component.
The city council is also going to ask the state legislators to raise the 1% cap on annual property tax growth.
The city seeks to protect existing state funding sources. Olympia is seeking continued support for the Encampment Resolution Program (ERP), Public Works Board, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Model Toxics Control Act, Climate Commitment Act, Community Economic Revitalization Board, Community Housing Improvement Program and Main Streets Program.
Olympia aims to expand attainable housing and strengthen homelessness response and support services. The council wants the legislators to sustain operational and capital investments to address long-term homelessness challenges, including protecting operational funding for Tiny Home villages.
The city is also advocating alternatives to current eviction processes and removal of the 33% cap on the portion of the Home Fund that can be used for operating costs, allowing flexibility beyond capital expenditures.
Olympia is supporting the Governor’s Office and the Washington State Department of Ecology's budget request of $25.2 million of combined state, private and local funding to complete the 100% design of the Deschutes Estuary project by the end of the 2027 fiscal year.
In addition to its primary agenda, some of the city’s secondary legislative priorities include:
Commuter rail adjacent to Interstate 5: Rebuild the Nisqually Bridge with rail capacity.
A staff report noted the city council is taking a new approach to legislative engagement. Instead of presenting a finalized agenda, the council will discuss a draft document to create an opportunity for dialogue and better understand the legislative delegation’s priorities ahead of the upcoming session.
The final 2026 legislative agenda is expected to return to the city council for approval at a meeting on Jan. 13.
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Honestyandrealityguy
They seem to me to be spending like "drunken sailors ". Tax revenues are increasing. Budget like everyone else are forced to do.
Monday, January 5 Report this
HappyOlympian
"According to the draft, Olympia continues to face revenue shortfalls driven by rising costs and limited revenue growth."
No, the revenue shortfalls created by over-spending. Olympia population about 60k, and most don't pay the taxes the city "needs" to be a city. Spend less on fluff, homeless folks from who-knows-where and other wasteful programs.
Bike lanes an astounding waste of funds and space for a trivial part of the community that rides an occasional bike.
Local government here weeps, and our mayor the worst in America.
Can't believe I voted for the guy.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Taxpayer
The district's legislators are state senator Jessica Bateman and state representatives Beth Doglio (position 1) and Lisa Parshley (position 2), all Democrats. It is time to elect atleast one fiscal conservative to represent our local population.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Shushu
Olympia is a great city to move to if you are homeless if not avoid it like the plague.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
mtndancer
What is a “Fire Benefit Charge”? What is the"Encampment Resolution program”? It is part of the job of journalism to explain these things to the reader.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
KEW100
One item I want to emphasize: Support for meat processing infrastructure. Olympia and Thurston County is home to small farmers who require small operational meat processing facilities. This is a good investment to make in a strong local economy, as well as supporting local food sources.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Larry Dzieza
Dear Mtndancer,
You make a good point that the article does not help people unfamiliar with this issue to understand the "terms of art". A link to past JOLT stories would be helpful. I frequently use the search bar.
For example, my search hits this that I wrote back when. https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/proposed-regional-fire-authority-whats-wrong-with-the-proposed-fire-benefit-charge,10252?
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
ddttwo2
I keep wondering why the city keeps giving tax relief to all of the apartment complexes going into the city of Oly? Then ask the Leg to raise my property taxes above the 1% threshold? Then complain because they have a shortfall in tax money...someone needs to wake up quickly, You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Interesting how you sure can find money 25.4 Million $$ for the BS Estuary. And then there's the Jungle. (worst homeless encampment in 3 states) Where is all of the feces and garbage flowing?? It is right in the middle of Woodard Creek and flows out to Woodard Bay Conservation area. So no one is concerned about that mess either. I would think you would want to clean up your back yard before you start focusing on the Climate commitment act? What does that do anyway?
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
JW
No new taxes until transient spending goes to ZERO.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Larry Dzieza
To: ddttwo2
I can answer this part of your comment, "I keep wondering why the city keeps giving tax relief to all of the apartment complexes going into the city of Oly? Then ask the Leg to raise my property taxes above the 1% threshold?"
It is because the city doesn't lose a penny when it gives tax relief to apartment complexes. ALL of the apartment owners' benefit is automatically replaced by higher taxes on those less fortunate to be tax relief (MultiFamily Tax Exemption, MFTE) apartment owners. It's called a "tax shift".
It is a feature of the law that for years the City Council never understood until it was brought to their attention by members of the public.
Same level of misunderstanding that the council had for the RFA tax mechanism that they tried to get adopted.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Yeti1981
@ddttwo2 The revenue to expense ration for all of Thurston County when it comes to new development is 3.7:1. Meaning new homebuilding, including multifamily, contribute 3.7 times the revenue to the county (to include the cities therein)compared to what it cost to support and maintain the new development. Tax breaks are allowing new units to be built, which is what we need most in a supply/affordability crisis. So it's not new development that is driving up your taxes. In fact, new development consistently subsidizes capital projects.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
BobJacobs
This is a huge and complex set of requests for legislative action. Obviously, in accordance with the city's claim to be "transparent", this should have been made public months ago, with adequate time for public input and discussion.
But once again it is being floated at the last minute, as in past years.
This is a serious weak spot in the city's procedures.
Bob Jacobs
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Larry Dzieza
What is interesting about the approach the city is pursuing (to the best of my ability to assume) is that unlike the first RFA attempt this would not have an "regional" aspect to it.
Sounds like the arguments for "economies of scale" (which did not actually exist in the Tumwater+Olympia effort) is being abandoned and this is simply a new kind of revenue stream to offload the burden on the 1% constrained property tax revenue growth.
This could, if enacted, produce enough money that could be used to pay for the fire services needed for the city's annexation of Wilderness and Indian Summer.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Yeti1981
A lot of the frustration in this thread is understandable, but I think we are talking past the core issue.
This is not just about spending too much or taxing too little. It is about how affordability is being approached as a policy problem.
Olympia’s legislative agenda talks a lot about housing affordability, homelessness, and fiscal stability. But most of what the City is asking the Legislature for is new revenue authority, tax flexibility, and expanded program funding. Very little of it is about reducing costs, shortening timelines, or fixing the systems that make housing and infrastructure so expensive in the first place.
The Fire Benefit Charge is a good example. Voters rejected the RFA proposal in 2023. Instead of reassessing service models or costs, the City is now asking for a new legal pathway to bring a similar charge back. That may be legal, but it does not address affordability for homeowners or renters who are already stretched.
Same with housing. The state has already passed major reforms on permit timelines and missing middle housing. Those were real steps forward. But they only work if cities also tackle feasibility issues like permitting delays, fees, appeals, parking mandates, and regulatory layering. Funding programs alone does not lower rents or home prices if supply remains constrained.
Even the estuary project highlights the tension. Maybe it is a worthy environmental goal, but spending more than 25 million dollars just on design does nothing to lower housing costs or help working families right now. Sequencing matters when budgets are tight.
If affordability is truly the priority, the conversation should focus less on new taxes and more on cost control, faster and more predictable permitting, infrastructure that actually unlocks housing capacity, and accountability for outcomes. Until we treat affordability as a cost and supply problem, not just a revenue problem, these fights will keep repeating.
Tuesday, January 6 Report this
Kruz81
Maybe stop overpaying and overspending. If we look at the pay for some of these positions that are affected by this you will see people that are extremely overcompensated for what they do. They continue to pay large overtime amounts instead of hiring additional staff. They also continue to Make purchases that are not the best financially speaking
Tuesday, January 6 Report this