Voters have approved Olympia’s tax increase for the arts

The final numbers are in, and Olympians have voted in favor of the Inspire Olympia sales tax.

According to the Thurston County auditor, 58.1% of the vote was for the sales tax, compared to 41.9% against it. That’s 7,266 votes against 5,244 for a total of 12,522 ballots counted.

Voter turnout was 34.4%, according to the election results certified on Friday.

The proposition authorizes an additional sales tax of 0.1% in the city for seven years. It will increase the total sales tax in Olympia from 9.4% to 9.5%. Revenue collected from the tax, which is projected to be $2.3 million, will go toward community enrichment projects and cultural access, including arts, culture and heritage programming.

This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 3:03 PM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription