Olympia Finance Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026
Olympia Finance Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026
The Olympia City Council Finance Committee met on Monday, June 16, 2026, at 4:30 PM in Council Chambers and via Zoom, chaired by Clark Gilman with members Kelly Green and Robert Vanderpool present. The meeting covered approvals, two detailed briefings on capital facilities planning and property tax levies, a work plan update, and financial reports. The meeting adjourned at 5:58 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The agenda was approved unanimously.
- The minutes from the May 18, 2026, Finance Committee meeting were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during public comment.
Discussion Items
- Capital Facilities Project Process Briefing (Item 6.A): Senior Accounting and Budget Manager Joan Lutz presented an overview of how the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) is developed, including its connection to the Comprehensive Plan and master plans, department-driven proposals, prioritization criteria (alignment with plans, risk management, equity, financial feasibility), and the six-year planning horizon. Committee members discussed the timing of public and advisory committee input. Councilmember Vanderpool expressed concern that advisory committees (e.g., BPAC, Planning Commission) often only receive a draft already largely determined, and their feedback seldom leads to changes. Chair Gilman and Finance Director Githens acknowledged the tension and noted that master plan updates (e.g., Transportation Master Plan) are key opportunities for community engagement, but that year-one of the CFP is largely locked in. The discussion emphasized the need for earlier community involvement and clearer communication about trade-offs.
- Property Tax Levy Briefing (Item 6.B): Finance Director Mike Githens provided a comprehensive overview of Washington State's property tax system, including the 1% annual increase limit (from I-747), how banked capacity and new construction work, the constitutional $10 per $1,000 cap, and the $3.60 per $1,000 city rate cap. He explained that the levy is budget-driven (services first, rate follows). A structural gap exists because costs rise faster than the 1% limit. Examples of a potential levy lid lift were shown: to raise $3 million, the rate would need to increase by roughly $0.25 per $1,000 at current assessed values. Councilmember Green asked about permanent lid lifts in other communities and why urgency has increased. Githens cited six years of rapid assessed value growth combined with high inflation, eroding purchasing power. Councilmember Vanderpool noted that property tax is confusing for taxpayers because multiple districts each take 1%, and assessed value increases often make bills rise more than 1%. The committee explored implications of asking for a specific dollar amount rather than a rate for voter measures.
- 2026 Finance Committee Work Plan Update (Item 6.C): The committee reviewed upcoming agenda items. No changes were made. The primary focus for the remainder of the year will be the 2027 budget process. Councilmember Vanderpool stated he would monitor state legislation on more progressive taxation options, including a land value tax.
Reports and Updates
- Finance Director Githens provided a monthly financial report update, noting the May report will be available online by the end of the week. He also gave an audit update: the state auditor's pre-conference went well, with no concerns; the financial statement audit and single audit (federal funds) are on track for completion by June 26. The accountability audit will follow.
- Githens reported on the Capital Area Regional Public Facility District annual meeting, including a construction update for Hands On Children's Museum and a note that Olympia's appointed member David Bryant’s term expires March 2027; reappointment will be considered.
Key Outcomes
- Agenda and minutes approved unanimously.
- Briefings on capital facilities planning and property tax levies were completed; no formal votes were taken.
- The committee acknowledged the complexity of the property tax system and the need for ongoing education and potential revenue discussions.
- The work plan remains unchanged, with a new August item on budget amendments added by the chair.
- The quarterly financial report will be presented to the full council in late July.
Meeting Transcript
Looks like you've started us out. Thank you, Owen. Good evening and welcome to the Monday, June 15th meeting of the Olympia City Council Finance Committee. It's 4 30 p.m. We have all three of us council members present and staff. So an approval of the agenda for tonight. Summit. Second. All right. It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. All in favor say aye. Okay, we have an agenda. Oh, and do we have anybody signed up for public comment this evening? And sometimes we have a few spectators, but tonight we don't have spectators, but you can watch us later on channel three. So that's great. Next up is an approval of meetings from the May 18th. Have either of you had a chance to review those minutes. I would move approval on the May 18th minutes. All right, all in favor say aye. Aye. Good. We've approved the minutes. That brings us to committee business. And we're going to start with a briefing on the capital facilities project process. All right. Good evening for the record. Joan Lutz, senior budget and finance manager here to provide capital facilities plan process and information. So today's goal is to give uh uh the finance committee a clear high-level overview of how the city city of Olympia plans, evaluates, and funds capital projects. Um this includes what qualifies as a capital project, how the CFP is developed, and where the committee fits into the review process. So let's start with what is the capital project. Um so it's a set of planned activities that maintain or improve a city asset, and that could be uh buildings, parks, trails, roads, and these activities include new construction, expansion, renovation, or replacement. So then from there we have this capital facilities plan known as the CFP, and this is a strategic document that outlines the plan, uh planning development and management of the public infrastructure and facilities to meet community needs. It is developed in coordination with our comprehensive plan as well as all of our master plans, and we update the CFP annually, therefore the first year of the CFP is the capital budget, and this is a requirement. Um, the CFP is a requirement of the Growth Management Act. How it all begins. I thought that was gonna be small print. So stay at stage one is the comprehensive plan, which is long-range community vision, and then we have step two, which are the master plans, which are surface service area infrastructure guides. Stage three is the department-driven proposals. Um, these are needs identified by the departments. Uh stage four scope schedule and cost estimations, and these are detailed project definition, and then step five is the capital facilities plan, which is the adopted six-year plan with the first year being the budget. Yeah, just real quick on this. Um department-driven proposals, even though they're they're kind of a stage three, they should come from complan master plan, should be driven from that. So I just want to make sure that's that's listed there. They're not separate things that come up that are outside of that, right? They should all be coordinated through and they should have some link back in some way, shape, or form to some master plan or utility plan or something that drives the need for those projects. So for the community for those watching home, I just want to make sure that's really clear that's where those are driven from. Just to check my understanding. This is also sort of hierarchical. But the highest level planning documents, the comprehensive plan, and then we have each of our master plans beneath that departments are creating implementations, and then you've got project specific planning, and finally that project specific planning ends up with a uh budget request in the capital facilities plan. Yeah, and then tapers down into what we can actually produce.
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