The Thurston County Auditor’s Elections Division is searching for committee members to provide written arguments in favor of a West Thurston Fire Authority excess levy for maintenance and operations that is set to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The written arguments would appear in the local voter’s pamphlet.
The amount that the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority will ask for in November was not publicly available as of Friday afternoon.
The West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, which serves the Rochester and Littlerock areas, last attempted to pass a maintenance and operations levy in 2022, at which time it failed to reach the supermajority required to pass.
That levy request would have brought the excess levy rate up from 97 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to a rate of $1.71, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
An excess levy is a levy imposed on top of regular property taxes. West Thurston Regional Fire Authority has not had an excess levy since the previous one expired at the end of 2022, prompting the fire authority to lay off staff and shut down several fire stations.
The fire authority did pass a levy lid left in 2023, which only required a simple majority to pass. That measure raised the property tax rate from 83 cents to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value for the next six years.
Committee members must reside within the district running the measure, according to a news release from the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
Committee member names must be submitted to the Elections Division by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, via email to pamphlet@co.thurston.wa.us or by dropping off forms at 2915 29th Ave SW in Tumwater.
