The Timberland Regional Library system hasn't had much success with levies in the past couple decades. But its leaders hope to see a different outcome this election.
The system serves residents in Thurston, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Mason and Pacific counties with 29 branches spanning an area around the size of New Jersey.
Voters have rejected measures to raise the levy for the library system since 2001, the year a state mandate capped the amount property owners could be levied annually. A proposal to raise the levy lid was rejected by voters in 2015.
Andrea Heisel, the interim executive director of Timberland Regional Library, said if more than 50% of voters approve the levy on the ballot, it would provide some $14 million for the system next year.
Heisel said that would allow them to bring some part-time employees up to full-time status. It would also allow them to buy new resources, such as additional e-book subscriptions and computer and copying supplies.
"If the vote fails, we'll have to significantly reduce open staff hours across our five-county district, we'll need to reduce our library mobile services, we'll have a smaller digital and physical collection with longer wait times," she said.
The library levy would increase property taxes based on 2027-2028 values by $0.22 to $0.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value for 2027 and 2028. That translates to an estimated increase of between $31 and $59 a year per taxpayer, depending on the county.
Opponents of the proposal say the Timberland Regional Library needs to show it can better use existing resources before asking for higher taxes. An argument against the levy is part of the official state voter's pamphlet.
Due to printing and recording errors, election officials in Pacific and Grays Harbor counties said voters in the communities of Raymond, Hoquiam, and Oakville received ballots that did not list the Timberland levy. Those counties are mailing a supplemental ballot including the measure to those voters in time for the election.
