Thurston County is reconsidering the terms of a $169,000 contract with an Oregon nonprofit to develop and launch a regional Home Energy Score program after learning that two of its three regional partners are still undecided about being involved.
The Thurston County Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 1 to approve a two-year contract with Earth Advantage, on the assumption that the cost would be divided equally between the four jurisdictions included in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan: Thurston County, the City of Olympia, the City of Lacey and the City of Tumwater.
As approved by the Board of County Commissioners, each jurisdiction is on the hook for $20,000 this year and $22,250 next year.
While the City of Olympia and Thurston County have each passed their own Home Energy Score ordinances, the cities of Lacey and Tumwater have not.
Despite that, Thurston County Climate Mitigation Senior Program Manager Rebecca Harvey told the Thurston County Board of Commissioners that, to the best of her knowledge, both cities were committed to financing their share of the contract.
“They are setting up the infrastructure,” Harvey told the Thurston County Board of Commissioners during a regular business meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1. “If and when they do approve the requirement, the program infrastructure will be there, and their stakeholders, their decision makers, are understanding that.”
That turned out not to be the case.
After the Thurston Chronicle published its article about the contract approval on Sept. 3, a representative from the City of Tumwater reached out to clarify that the Earth Advantage contract is not in the city’s budget, and that the city does not currently intend to share the contract cost.
“The City Council of Tumwater has not made any decision yet to commit to participation — or reject participation — in the regional Home Energy Score program. The Tumwater City Council continues to consider its next steps on this topic,” City of Tumwater Communications Director Jason Wettstein said in an email to a Thurston Chronicle reporter.
The Tumwater City Council voted July 21 to forward the proposed ordinance to its newly formed Tumwater Equity Commission for review. That commission is continuing its work, and is expected to make a recommendation to the Tumwater City Council in the coming weeks.
The City of Lacey, similarly, has not yet committed to helping finance the full two-year contract with Earth Advantage.
While the Lacey City Council is not scheduled to review a Home Energy Score ordinance until the first half of 2027, the City of Lacey did allocate $25,000 in the 2026 budget to develop the infrastructure needed for a regional Home Energy Score program.
That amount covers the City of Lacey’s share for phase one of the Earth Advantage contract, which is focused on drafting and finalizing the implementation plan.
“The City of Lacey is not on the same timeline as other jurisdictions in terms of considering a Home Energy Score program ordinance. However, the City of Lacey supports our jurisdictional partners as they consider this program to meet their communities’ needs,” City of Lacey Communications Manager Donna Feliciano said in a Sept. 14 email to a Thurston Chronicle reporter.
At this time, though, the City of Lacey does not intend to allocate funding in the 2027 budget for phase two of the contract.
That phase, scheduled to run from early-2027 to April 2028, focuses on program implementation.
“The City of Lacey is not in a position to commit a proportionate share of funding for phase 2 work until the Lacey City Council has had the opportunity to fully discuss all the aspects of a Home Energy Score program and make a decision on the type of program they would like to implement,” Feliciano stated.
The Earth Advantage contract has not yet been signed, and will be brought back to the Thurston County Board of Commissioners in early October, according to county Chief Communications Manager Susan Melnyk.
The board will be asked to “discuss reducing the contract amount considering Tumwater and Lacey’s current priorities,” Melnyk said.
Reducing the contract amount is not expected to be a massive undertaking, according to the county.
“Since the Home Energy Score program is a first-of-its-kind effort in this region, the agreement was intentionally designed to be dynamic. Flexibility is built in so that every community can engage at a pace that aligns with their local resources and priorities,” Melnyk said.
The contracts’ phased approach allows each jurisdiction “the autonomy to adjust their funding and their active participation,” Melnyk said. “As partners adjust, the door remains open, with the goal of having all jurisdictions help shape the future of the program, and to tailor it responsibly for each community — it’s a standard part of our collaborations, and it ensures the model remains scalable and flexible for our partners.”
Establishing a regional Home Energy Score program is one of the climate actions laid out in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, developed by the Thurston Regional Planning Council, Thurston County and the cities of Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia to reduce greenhouse gases in the region.
The Home Energy Score is a rating from 1 to 10 based on the energy efficiency of a home that must be disclosed in the sale listing. It is intended as a tool for homebuyers to better understand the annual estimated energy costs of a home.
The concept has been strongly opposed by the Thurston County Realtors Association and supported by environmental activists.
The reception amongst homeowners has been split, with some speaking out in opposition and others advocating in favor of the program.
Under the regional contract approved by the Thurston County Board of Commissioners, nonprofit Earth Advantage is responsible for establishing the infrastructure needed to launch the regional HES program. That scope of work includes developing a customized regional HES report; launching and maintaining software tools and systems needed for program implementation; providing training, onboarding and mentorship to HES assessors; providing quality assurance of the scores produced in Thurston County and partner jurisdictions; and analyzing program data and delivering summary reports to HES Program staff.
Earth Advantage is a nonprofit organization that has been an official HES partner of the U.S. Department of Energy since 2017, and has been recognized nationwide for their leadership, innovation, and scoring results.
The contract period runs through April 30, 2028, unless renewed or terminated before then.
The Thurston County Board of Commissioners approved Thurston County’s HES ordinance on March 17, 2026, to go into effect March 17, 2027.
The Olympia City Council followed Thurston County’s lead and approved the City of Olympia’s HES ordinance on March 24, 2026, to go into effect May 1, 2027.
