EVERETT — For weeks, the City Council has been studying an August ballot measure asking voters to increase property taxes by more than 1%.
The amount could range from a 2.2% increase to an 8.9% increase.
This week it will be narrowing down the details, including possibly a menu of percentages to take. Next week at its May 1 meeting, the council will take a formal vote to place it on the ballot.
The City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the council chambers, 3002 Wetmore Ave.
Even though council hasn’t finalized the measure yet, the city is also hustling to establish committees to write the pro and con statements in the ballot. The deadline is this Thursday, April 25, and interested residents must apply online through a link at everettwa.gov/2024ballotmeasure
On paper, Everett faces a $12 million deficit for 2025. Only a 5.6% or higher increase would cover that gap.
For a home worth $531,000, a 5.6% increase would add $20.83 to the property tax bill for Everett’s share.
Everett’s city levy rate today is $1.52 per $1,000 in assessed value and generates about $40 million a year.
Levy lid lift dollars will not be paying for the future stadium project, nor will it pay for Everett Transit or Everett’s golf courses. Transit and golf operate as lines of business which work separate from the budget.
Everett has had a structural deficit, where the expense of running the city outpaces its tax revenues, for more than 10 years.
A factor is that a voter-created initiative limits property tax increases to no more than 1% annually.
Mayor Cassie Franklin recently told the council it is “one of the most important votes you as a council could have in years.”
Their deadline to deliver something to the county elections office is May 3 to make the August ballot.
Any levy lid lift would be in effect for 2025.
