What is Proposition 1?
A measure on the August 5, 2025, ballot asking City of Lacey voters whether to create a Lacey Metropolitan Park District (MPD).
An MPD is a junior property-taxing district, authorized by state law, to manage, control, improve, maintain, and acquire parks, parkways, boulevards, recreational facilities, programs, and services.
Proposition 1 would:
- Create a Lacey Metropolitan Park District (MPD) to provide ongoing funding to maintain, operate, and improve parks, trails, recreational facilities, and programs.
- Establish the MPD boundaries as the Lacey city limits.
- Establish the MPD to be governed by the Lacey City Council.
- Authorize the tax rate of up to a maximum of $0.45 per $1,000 assessed property value. Example: At the rate of $0.45 per $1,000 assessed property value, an owner with a property assessed at $500,000 would pay $225 a year or $18.75 per month. See Cost to Property Owners tab for more examples.
What would be the MPD cost to property owners?
The MPD’s governing body could authorize the tax rate of up to a maximum rate of $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value. See table below for estimated costs. Actual costs may vary.
MPD Cost to Property Owners (based on $0.45 per $1,000 assessed value)
| Assessed Value | $350,000 | $400,000 | $500,000 | $600,000 | $700,000 |
| Monthly Cost | $13.13 | $15.00 | $18.75 | $22.50 | $26.25 |
| Annual Cost | $157.50 | $180.00 | $225.00 | $270.00 | $315.00 |
To learn more about property taxes, visit Thurston County’s My Property Tax Distribution webpage.
How would MPD revenue be spent?
MPD funds would be prioritized to add new park features requested by the community, maintain parks and park facilities, and support recreational programs. Adding these new park features may take longer to complete, or may not occur with the current park funding.
The City gathered over 8,700 community comments on park and recreation needs. This information was used to update the 2023 Lacey Parks, Culture, and Recreation Comprehensive Plan. MPD funding would support projects and programs identified by the community, including:
Map of Potential Projects
Identified in the 2023 Lacey Parks, Culture, and Recreation Comprehensive Plan
Presentations
City staff will deliver community presentations to various organizations in Lacey over the next few months. If your group is interested in a presentation on the MPD, please contact Jenny Wilson at Jenny.Wilson@CityofLacey.org or (360) 412-3184.
You can also watch the video presentation below or view the MPD presentation slides.
Background
The City conducted extensive public outreach to gather feedback on local parks. Community members expressed a desire for many new park improvements. However, the City does not have the financial resources to accomplish many of the identified park improvements in the near term without impacting other City services.
On April 1, 2025, the Lacey City Council adopted Resolution 1166 to place a proposal on the August 5, 2025, ballot to create a Metropolitan Park District (MPD).
MPD Discussions at City Council Meetings
To learn more about the process to adopt Resolution 1166, you can watch the following City Council meetings:
- December 17, 2024, Regular Meeting
- January 14, 2025, Worksession
- March 25, 2025, Worksession
- April 1, 2025, Regular Meeting
Related Links
- Parks, Culture, and Recreation Board
- Parks Improvement Funding Workgroup
- 2023 Lacey Parks, Culture, and Recreation Comprehensive Plan
- Greg Cuoio and Greenways Master Plan
FAQs
How much revenue would the MPD generate?
The projected revenue from the proposed MPD is $5.9 million per year, based on the 2024 total assessed property valuation of Lacey.
Would the MPD tax expire?
No, it would not expire.
Would MPD funds be used to supplant (replace) existing Parks funding?
The intent is to use these funds to supplement, not supplant (replace), existing parks and recreation funds.
Has the public provided input on Parks, Culture, and Recreation?
Yes, through an extensive public outreach process:
- Starting in 2021, the City launched the Lacey Cares community survey. This open-ended community outreach effort resulted in 6,000 responses related to parks, culture, and recreation.
- During the Summer of 2021, the City formed an Outreach Team to better understand community priorities and preferences. This led to an additional 800 community responses.
- In October 2021, a dedicated Parks and Recreation survey was conducted with over 1,200 responses.
- In 2022, a second, park-specific community survey was conducted to further understand community preferences.
- In 2023, a Parks Task Force met and confirmed the public priorities as expressed in the Parks, Culture and Recreation Comprehensive Plan.
- From June to December 2024, the Parks Improvement Funding Workgroup, an ad hoc advisory board to the Lacey City Council, studied funding options and prioritized projects identified in the 2023 Lacey Parks, Culture, and Recreation Comprehensive Plan.
What would happen if the MPD measure does not pass?
The City would have limited ability to expand maintenance and programs or to move forward with many of the projects identified in the 2023 Parks, Culture, and Recreation Comprehensive Plan.
Who would determine what the MPD revenue would be spent on?
The Lacey City Council would serve as the MPD board and approve the MPD budget.
When is the last time Lacey had a park measure on the ballot?
The City of Lacey proposed an MPD on the November 2018 ballot. The measure failed by a vote of 52%.
Why an MPD? Why not a bond?
An MPD provides ongoing funding and can include dollars for maintenance and operations. A bond is for specific acquisition and development projects. It has a defined total dollar amount and does not allow for maintenance in perpetuity.
The Parks Improvement Funding Workgroup advised an MPD for long-term sustainability since the funding can be used for maintenance and operations in addition to capital improvements and acquisitions.
What is a Metropolitan Park District (MPD)?
An MPD is a junior property-taxing district, authorized by state law, to manage, control, improve, maintain, and acquire parks, parkways, boulevards, recreational facilities, programs, and services.
What would be the cost to property owners with the MPD?
Under state law, the maximum rate for an MPD is $0.75 per $1,000 assessed value. Proposition No. 1 would set a maximum rate of $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value. At that rate, an owner with a property assessed at $500,000 would pay $225 a year, or $18.75 per month.
What tax increases has the City of Lacey put in place over the past 20 years?
- Exercised the 1.0% property tax revenue limit in each of the last 16 years
- In 2013, a 6.04% utility tax on water sales was levied to comply with a Supreme Court ruling on fire suppression
- At the same time, water rates were lowered by 5.39%, which was equal to the 6.04% utility tax increase impact.
- Effective 12/31/2023: To reverse the 2013 action, the 6.04% utility tax was rescinded, and water rates were increased by the same amount.
- 0.2% Transportation Benefit District sales tax
- Approved by the Lacey voters in 2017
- Voter-approved bond excess property tax levies
- Fire Safety (2002)
- Retired (paid off) at the end of 2021.
- Parks Improvements (2003)
- 2003 property tax levy was retired (paid off) at the end of 2023.
- Parks Improvements (2006)
- 2006 property tax levy will be retired (paid off) at the end of 2026.
- Fire Safety (2002)
- Lacey has taken action on sales tax credits against the State portion of sales tax, which had a net-zero impact on the overall rate.
- Affordable and Supportive Housing sales tax (2019)
- Capital Area Region Public Facilities District (2003)
- NOTE: There have been county-wide, voter-approved property and sales tax increases by Thurston County, Intercity Transit, Thurston County 911, and Lacey Fire District #3.
Example of levy rate over time
Many factors affect property taxes, including the City’s overall assessed value (AV), the assessed value of individual properties, new construction, and legal limits. The example below helps illustrate how this works.
If an MPD levy started in 2026, a regular property tax levy of $0.45 per 1,000 of AV would be added to properties in Lacey. Based on 2024 assessed values, a property with an AV of $500,000 would see a property tax assessment of $225 for the MPD in 2026 (or $18.75 per month).
The first-year assessment, in this case, 2026, would set the total MPD amount to be collected for future years. Using 2024 data, a $0.45 per 1,000 rate would collect around $5.9 million.
The MPD Board may increase this amount by up to 1% annually. Assuming the MPD Board takes this action annually and no new construction is added, Table A shows the total amount collected by the MPD over a ten-year period.
Table A – MPD at $0.45 per 1,000 with 1% annual inflation, 2026-2035
| Year | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 | 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total MPD amount | $5,985,000 | $6,044,850 | $6,105,299 | $6,166,351 | $6,288,015 | $6,290,295 | $6,353,198 | $6,416,730 | $6,480,897 | $6,545,706 |
After the first year, individual property assessments would be determined by the total MPD amount to be collected across the City and an individual property’s percentage of that total.
Here’s a simplified example:
2026: First year of assessment
- The assessed value of all property in an MPD boundary is $13.3 billion
- The MPD levy rate was approved at $.45 per 1,000 AV.
- The MPD would collect a total of around $5.9 million.
- A property assessed at $500,000 would pay $225 for the MPD.
Total AV: $13,300,000,000 * 1,000 = $13,300,000
$13,300,000/$0.45 = $5,985,000
Property A/V: $500,000/1,000 = $500
$500 * $0.45 = $225
- In 2026, inflation totaled 3%. By state law, the total amount the MPD could collect in 2027 is $5.9 million (the amount established in 2026), plus around $60,000 (1% for inflation), for a total of $6,044,850 (see Table A above). No new construction was added.
- The assessed value of all property in the MPD is now $14 billion (a 5.3% increase from 2026)
- The new rate per AV is: $6,045,000/ $14,000,000 = $.43 per 1,000
- A property assessed at $500,000 would see an MPD assessment of $215 in 2027. In this case, the assessment (and levy rate per 1000) went down due to the property’s AV staying the same relative to the increase in the total AV of all property in Lacey.
- Assessment – $215, $10 less than last year
- Levy rate – $0.43 per 1,000
- $500,000/1,000 = $500
$500*$0.43 = $215
- If the above property’s assessed value increased by 10%, the AV for the property would be $550,000. The property would see an MPD assessment of $236.50 in 2027. In this case, the assessment went up due to the increase in the property’s AV compared to the increase in AV of all property in Lacey. However, the levy rate per 1,000 went down.
- Assessment – $236.50, $11.50 more than last year
- Levy rate – $0.43 per 1,000
- $550,000/1,000 = $550
$550*$0.43 = $236.50
As the example above shows, the levy rate per year may change over time due to various factors, including changes in AV (total for the City and individual properties) and legal limits. Generally, if a property’s AV increases, the levy rate decreases. However, this does not necessarily mean a decrease in the amount assessed for that property, as seen above.
Legal Limits: By statute, the total regular levy rate for most local governments combined may not exceed $5.90 per $1,000 assessed valuation limit. If they exceed this limit, pro-rationing occurs. This would impact levy rates and the amount collected.
