Olympia, Tumwater voters defeat RFA plan by a wide margin. Here’s what happens now
Voters in Olympia and Tumwater have defeated Proposition 1 to consolidate the two cities’ fire departments under an independent fire authority.
According to the Thurston County election offices’ Tuesday night vote tally, 64.3% of voters cast a no vote. So far, only 28% of registered voters voted at all, casting just a little more than 15,000 votes.
More votes will be tallied over the coming days as mailed ballots come in, but there are only an estimated 750 left. Proposition 1 needs a super-majority of 60% approval to pass.
The ballot proposition would have formed the Olympia Tumwater Fire Authority and adopted a plan to provide both cities with fire protection and basic emergency medical services without jurisdictional boundaries. The idea was proposed to create stable and dedicated funding for fire and emergency services, instead of having those services compete for limited funding with other city services and necessities.
The plan proposed funding the RFA with a property tax and a six-year Fire Benefit Charge. The RFA property tax would have replaced property taxes now being collected, and an amount no greater than $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value would’ve gone toward the RFA budget.
Right now Tumwater allocates about $15.7 million a year for fire and EMS services, and Olympia spends nearly $19 million a year on the services. According to the RFA 7-year financial plan summary, about $39.9 million would have been collected in 2024, with $10.5 million of that coming from the Fire Benefit Charge (FBC).
Olympia City Council member Lisa Parshley said she was at Nicole’s Bar in downtown Olympia with firefighters when she got the news. She said they were all pretty disappointed, and that the firefighters had put their heart into the RFA campaign.
“I feel the most bad for our firefighters and our fire services, that our community didn’t hear the message,” Parshley said. “They will show up tomorrow and do their job, because that’s who they are. But it’s a hard night for them.”
Parshley said she believes the RFA plan was solid and that misinformation spread by those against the proposition led to the negative result.
At the same time, she understands there needs to be more information about the financing of the RFA. She said Grays Harbor County just had an RFA plan fail as well, and it didn’t need a super-majority vote.
Still, she said, either way fire services are configured, more funding will be needed to prepare fire departments for community growth. She said it’s on the cities to better communicate the financial burden to the public, as well as what the workload is like for firefighters and EMTs.
Parshley said the current model for running fire departments is outdated, and officials will have to meet to see where the plan can be improved or discuss alternatives.
“To avoid a crisis, we’re going to have to have those conversations,” Parshley said. “There is a looming crisis in our fire services, despite what our opponents have said.”
Olympia resident Larry Dzieza, who has served in groups opposing the RFA, said he wanted to thank voters for saving the fire departments.
Dzieza said he believes the public didn’t want another level of government, they liked the fire departments how they are, and they don’t believe officials’ claims that the departments are failing. Dzieza said people saw that there were no real benefits promised with the RFA creation.
He said if more money is needed for the fire departments, then the cities should spend less on consultants or on other less emergent initiatives.
Dzieza said he hopes the two cities learn from the vote and realize they need input from a larger range of people. He said he believes a solution can be found, since both sides want the cities to have the best emergency services they can have.
County Auditor Mary Hall said she was surprised at the landslide vote because Olympians typically vote in favor of ballot measures. The official vote will be certified May 5.
