NOLS’ levy lid lift narrowly passing

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2026

The North Olympic Library System’s request to restore its tax levy rate is passing by approximately 400 votes as of Tuesday night in the Clallam County-wide special election.

According to Clallam County Auditor’s Office Unofficial Cumulative Report the levy lid lift is passing 51.2% (8,716 votes) in favor to 48.8% (8,304) opposed.

The Secretary of State’s website reports that 37.5% of ballots (22,277) had been returned without an official number of ballots left to count available as of Tuesday night.

There’s approximately a difference of 5,250 ballots between the county and the state’s data.

Levies must pass with 50% plus one simple majority vote. Certification of the election is set for 2 p.m. May 8.

NOLS’ resolution is the library system’s first request to raise its levy since 2010.

They asked voters to increase the regular property tax levy from its current rate $0.28 per $1,000 of a home’s assessed valuation to $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed valuation starting in 2027.

Library staff estimate that a property owner with a $300,000 assessed property value would see their current monthly cost for the library go from $7 to $11.25, and a $400,000 property go from $9.33 to $15 a month.

The library asked voters to raise the levy rate in 2010 to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, which passed with 59.1% in favor (14,299).

Like other junior tax districts, NOLS staff report its revenues are largely dependent on local property tax revenue. NOLS’ operating budget consists of about 87% of property taxes, staff report.

Under state law, NOLS’ property tax revenue cannot increase by more than 1% annually, unless approved by voters.

Executive Director Noah Glaude said he and fellow staff members are going to be patient as the Auditor’s Office completes their work counting each ballot.

“I feel good it’s positive right now,” he said Tuesday night. “It’s a decent place to start and we’ll watch it through the week.”

Glaude said he and staffers have heard in recent months about the difficulty asking for an increase in property taxes during tough financial times.

“That being said, this is the mechanism we have to use to maintain services to maintain the levy,” he said.

Glaude said they’ve met with a number of people who support the library but can’t vote for more taxes.

According to NOLS’ documents, staff stated that if the levy lid does not pass they’d consider reduction of staffing, service hours, material purchases, and other reductions for 2027.

“The timing was intentional to give us six months to give us a good solid plan for 2027,” Glaude said.

He said the library system has a plan for 2026 and nothing would change immediately if the levy fails.

NOLS has four branches in Sequim, Port Angeles, Clallam Bay and Sequim, and a Bookmobile that operates at various locations throughout the year.

NOLS’ 2025 Annual Report states that the system last year had 32,000-plus active cardholders, 25,000-plus attend an event, 993,000-plus checkouts and renewals, and 312,000-plus patron visits between its branches.

If the levy lid lift passes, the library’s levy total would increase to approximately $7.8 million compared to this year’s operating budget of approximately $7.3 million, staff report.

Revenue collected over the amount needed would go into reserves for “when the levy rate inevitably begins to shrink again and inflation causes costs to increase,” NOLS reports.