Everett shares details on upcoming budget cuts

EVERETT — Over the past decade, Everett’s population has grown by 10,000.

In the same time period, the city’s general government staff has grown by eight, to 727 full-time positions.

It’s one of the issues Everett is contending with as it battles an ongoing budget deficit that has affected the city’s general fund for nearly two decades. On Wednesday, the city’s finance director, Heide Brillantes, presented a more detailed overview of the balancing measures in the mayor’s 2025 proposed budget. The city has to balance a $12.6 million general fund deficit.

Street improvement projects could face the biggest hit in the upcoming budget, as the city plans to slash nearly a quarter of the program’s money to save costs, down from just over $4 million to $3 million. The library’s funding could see a 12% cut, and the city’s communication budget could also see a cut of just over 10%.

At the same time, other costs are projected to increase. The city’s legal department could need nearly $1 million in additional funding to cover increased requirements for public defender services. Non-departmental spending — which pays for equipment replacement, electrical and utility fees as well as other costs that are not specific to a single city department — could increase by nearly $5 million. This is due to an increase in jail fees, improvements to IT infrastructure and the costs of emergency radio services.

Other departments see structural changes in the budget proposal. Funding for the city’s police department — the largest expense in the general fund — hardly changed compared to the 2024 budget, but it could lose 7.5 full-time equivalent positions, as the city compensates for an increase in salaries. The jobs lost include three vacant positions being eliminated, along with a deputy police chief, a lieutenant and crime analyst who all accepted voluntary buyouts.

Officials are making budget cuts again, the city said, due to the failure of a property tax levy lid lift voters rejected in August. Since 2001, the state has limited increases on municipal property tax levies to 1% annually — lower than the rate of inflation — as the demand for goods and services has continued to grow. As property tax is one of the primary sources of revenue for the city, the stagnation means cuts are necessary, and get more difficult every year.

“As we talk about this process, I would like to be upfront with our residents that this is what we’re cutting, and these are the services we’re going to be cutting,” said City Council President Don Schwab on Wednesday. “… There are consequences to our levy lid lift failing.”

Some of the effects of next year’s budget cuts are yet to be determined.

The library’s budget, for example, is allocated via the Everett Public Library Board of Trustees. While the city determines the funding the library receives, and it’s clear programs will see significant cuts, the board will propose where to make cuts at its Nov. 19 meeting. Even with reduced funding, both library branches will remain open, but at the likely cost of fewer hours and services, Franklin has said.

“I think it’s fair to assume a reduction in hours will be a part of this, this is a large enough budget reduction,” said Lori Cummings, the senior executive director at the mayor’s office.

In total, 31 jobs citywide could be permanently cut, and the city could furlough or reduce the hours of 24 others, the mayor said in her October budget address. On Wednesday, council members asked staff to create an itemized list of the positions that will be lost due to budget cuts.

Budget deliberations will continue at the next two City Council meetings. The city is also taking public comment until Nov. 20, and is set to vote on the budget on Dec. 4.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.