Olympia’s special election seeking voter approval to increase the sales tax by 0.1 percent to fund arts and cultural programs appears to have passed yesterday.
The Thurston County Auditor released the unofficial result of the City of Olympia's referendum, showing that 58.1% of people who cast their votes favor the city’s Proposition 1 sales and use tax by Tuesday.
As of 3:30 pm today, 12,465 ballots from 55 precincts were counted. Out of this number, 7,242 voted yes, while 5,223 were not in favor of Proposition 1.
The county stated there are 36,416 registered voters in the city and indicated that 34.26 percent of voters turned in ballots.
The referendum resulted from the city council’s approval of the resolution, levying the sales tax by one-tenth percent to fund arts, science, cultural and heritage programs. The council resolution to seek a vote by the public was approved by the council on December 16, 2021.
The resolution also outlined the ballot proposition, explaining to voters where the funds would go, as follows:
After the vote is certified on May 6, the city will increase the city’s portion of the retail sales tax by one penny per $10 of purchases made effective July 1, 2022 and expiring in seven years.
A minimum of 80% is set to be dedicated to supporting cultural programs in Olympia, including programs for youth, neighborhood or community events, and arts, science, cultural and heritage organizations. Up to 10% will provide transportation for children enrolled in Olympia public schools to cultural programs funded by the Olympia Cultural Access Program (CAP). Up to 10% of revenues collected can be used for administrative costs.
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