EVERETT — To have a balanced budget next year, the city plans to cut back on library hours, eliminate all park rangers, suspend its arts and culture grant program and make almost $5 million in labor cuts to plug its $12.6 million budget deficit.
These items were revealed as preliminary plans at
a City Council budget workshop Sept. 25.
“We have to discontinue or reduce some lines of work that we really know our residents benefit from but that we can’t afford to continue,” Mayor Cassie Franklin said, “but by taking a strategic approach to these reductions, we’re really protecting the resources needed to deliver essential services that we can’t reduce.”
The budget maintains public safety and infrastructure needs for the city’s 115,000 residents, Franklin said.
The 2025 budget plan again holds off allocating replenishment money toward its pension fund for police and fire retirees. Skipping it accounts for just shy of $5 million of balancing the budget.
Going against its goals, the city anticipates jail fees will increase by nearly $2 million, costing $6 million next year, and indigent defense costs to rise $900,000 because of unfunded mandates.
City Hall has frozen hiring and is conducting a workforce reduction plan with buyouts.
Staff time use also is being scrutinized, with some furloughs being used. There will be layoffs.
The 2025 budget is anticipated to be working from $610 million. The city’s general fund, the portion that includes most public-facing services, will be working from an estimated $169 million next year, up from $165 million in 2024. Sales tax and property tax will bring in $82 million of that.
The city hoped to fill the 2025 hole by the passage of a levy lid lift measure in August to increase the property tax rate above 1%. The voting majority declined to pass it. The ask would have increased Everett’s property tax rate by 67 cents over the current rate to about $2.19.
In a city survey from August, about 500 respondents identified neighborhood groups, parking enforcement and business support as the top three items to cut back on. Each got more than 200 responses. The largest number of responses came from North Everett residents.
The council is scheduled to vote on the budget at its Wednesday, Dec. 4 meeting.
The presentation slides on the budgeting balance plan are on the city’s Agenda Center page for council meetings under the date of Sept. 25, 2024 with the heading “Budget & Finance Committee.” The Agenda Center is at everettwa.gov/agendacenter
