Olympia parks department would face $1.3M shortfall due to Fire Authority startup costs
Olympia officials have learned that the proposal to combine the city’s fire department with Tumwater’s under a Regional Fire Authority would take money away from the city’s parks budget.
As a result of general fund tax dollars being reallocated to support the start of the RFA, the Olympia, Parks, Arts and Recreation Department would lose about $1.3 million a year, if voters approve the RFA when it is put up for a vote in 2023. That’s because the department relies on an already-agreed-upon 11 percent share of the city’s general fund tax revenues. It’s the only department slated to see a change if an RFA is approved.
The department’s advisory committee wrote to the parks board and city council asking that this get fixed before the 2024 budget cycle. The Metropolitan Park District board met Tuesday to discuss how to move forward, and the consensus was that there’s plenty of time to make things right.
The Olympia MPD is a junior property taxing district that manages tax funds for parks, streets and other projects in Olympia. Basically, it helps the city’s parks and recreation department get projects done. The board approves a budget and levies a property tax equal to $0.54 per $1,000 of assessed value. Funding started in 2017, after voters approved the creation of the OMPD in 2015.
Besides the MPD property tax revenue, Olympia parks is funded by one-time park impact fees, State EPA mitigation fees, grants and a non-voted utility tax.
Former Olympia council member Karen Messmer spoke during public comment, saying it isn’t a time to be making cuts and pulling back on important parks, trails and recreation resources. She said the interlocal agreement between the city and the parks board was voted on by the public with the intent of keeping parks funding secure.
Olympia resident Jim Lazar shared the same concerns and said the budget deficit would alienate parks supporters. He said about 57 percent of voters approved the funding agreement, and there’s another 33 percent who he believes won’t support the RFA’s fee increases. Combine those two, he said that leaves about 10 percent of the population that might vote for the RFA, if it means underfunding parks.
“I urge this body at tonight’s meeting to schedule a meeting to consider an ILA amendment prior to the date the council considers the RFA,” Lazar said.
City manager Jay Burney recognized the parks funding deficit, and blamed it partially on the city’s inability to raise property taxes more than 1 percent a year under state law.
Burney said the city has made a lot of progress on parks and recreation efforts, and that no one wants to pit parks funding against emergency service funding. But the city is approaching a “crisis” in its ability to fund fire response, he said, alongside other needs of a quickly growing population.
There wouldn’t be any changes to the parks budget until 2024, Burney said, because the RFA ballot measure is not going to voters until mid-2023. So there’s time to solve the problem.
He said the City Council is considering an annexation in southeast Olympia next year that could bring in more tax revenue. He said he wants to start conversations with parks officials now to ensure the deficit doesn’t happen.
Mayor Cheryl Selby said parks department tax revenue was steady at $4.4 million for a couple of years before it grew to $5.6 million in 2021. She said it will go back down to around that $4.4 million mark, and that it’s a short-term issue that can happen with a fluctuating city budget.
“I feel like my hair is not on fire about this, we’re going to continue to grow,” Selby said. “The revenue might be short term so we have to readjust for parks, but it’s going to catch up. It’s not a permanent thing.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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