County commissioners to vote today on Thurston Conservation District charge of $25 a parcel plus 10 cents an acre

Thurston County commissioners are scheduled to vote today on a new 10-year system of charges for the Thurston Conservation District that would add $25 a year plus 10 cents an acre to most residential property tax statements starting in 2027.

The Board of County Commissioners will take public comment at a hearing at 3:30 p.m. in Room 110 of the Thurston County Atrium, 3000 Pacific Ave. SE, Olympia, and then decide on the ordinance, according to the county's legal notice. Residents may also comment on Zoom or in writing.

The charges would apply to properties in unincorporated Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater, and to the parts of Rainier, Tenino and Yelm inside the district's 1948 boundaries, for collection from 2027 through 2036.

What owners would pay

Under the rate schedule in the district's June consultant report, residential parcels would pay $25 a year plus 10 cents an acre. A one-acre home lot would pay $25.10 a year.

Commercial, transportation, trade, service and recreational parcels would pay $24.03 a parcel plus 5 cents an acre. Agricultural land would pay $24.99 plus 10 cents an acre, and undeveloped or open-space parcels $24.91 plus 10 cents. Designated forest land would pay $2.98 a parcel plus 1 cent an acre.

The report counts 93,317 residential parcels among 108,842 in the district and forecasts about $2.7 million a year in revenue, about $2.34 million of it from residential land.

The higher charges are possible because the Legislature raised the cap in 2025. State law now allows up to $25 a parcel and 10 cents an acre. Before that, counties under 480,000 people, including Thurston, were capped at $5 a parcel. The consultant calculated that the district's full $3.5 million budget would require about $30 a residential parcel, so the rates were cut to fit the cap. The district says it will keep seeking grants to close the gap.

What the district says the money buys

The conservation district is a public agency that offers free and low-cost conservation help to farms and homeowners, including its soil testing program and equipment rentals. It says it would pledge $1 million a year to save farmland and that the money would help it build a Conservation Education Center covering farmland, wildlife habitat, shorelines and other natural resources.

Its board held its own hearing on the proposal June 17 before sending it to the county.

Questions can go to Executive Director Sarah Moorehead at 360-754-3588.