Inspire Olympia sales tax increase appears headed for voter approval

With the vast majority of votes counted, Tuesday night’s election returns show more than 56 percent of city voters approving the Inspire Olympia sales tax.

Nearly 11,000 votes were cast, representing more than a 29 percent turnout in Tuesday’s special election. Only city of Olympia voters could cast ballots.

The vote tallies so far are 6,078 (56.45%) yes and 4,690 (43.55%) no.

Proposition 1, dubbed Inspire Olympia, authorizes an additional sales tax of 0.1% in the city for seven years, bringing an additional $2.3 million into city coffers. Revenue must be dedicated to community enrichment and cultural access, including arts, culture and heritage programming.

It will increase the total sales tax rate in Olympia from 9.4% to 9.5%, and cost consumers about 10 cents per $100 purchase.

“The results tonight confirm that Olympia understands how arts, culture, and history bring a community through challenging times, and build economic resilience,” Mayor Cheryl Selby said. “I look forward to working with the Council to create a cultural access program that fulfills our mission to create a city that welcomes and promotes access to all forms of creative experiences.”

The Thurston County Auditor’s election webpage says only about 200 votes are still to be counted. The election will be certified on May 6.

This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 9:23 PM.