By Eileen Simmons / For The Herald
As the former director of the Everett Public Library, I would like to comment on the City of Evertt’s current financial situation and the resulting budget cuts recently approved by the City Council. In my 19 years with the city, departments regularly were required to make cuts to their budgets because of what came to be called a structural deficit.
A structural deficit is the result of expenditures increasing faster than revenue, and this has been Everett’s problem for years. Inflation, property tax growth limitations, flattened sales tax as big box stores open outlets in the northern part of the county, and changes in business and occupations tax revenue resulting from the huge tax break Boeing received from the state, all have contributed to an ongoing and growing imbalance between what the city receives in revenue and the money needed to maintain services.
After the 2008 recession, then-Mayor Stephanson convened a committee of department heads to study the situation and make recommendations to mitigate the problem. As a member of that committee, I can say that all of us knew the problem was real and took our responsibility seriously. In addition to taking suggestions from front-line staff, we held three public meetings to both inform residents of possible service cuts and to gather input from them. What was clear to me at the end of this process is that with public safety services (e.g. police, fire, municipal court) accounting for something over 75 percent of the city’s budget at that time, we could cut out entire departments and still not solve the problem.
And that committee didn’t solve the structural problem with the city’s budget. Some positions and services were cut, some fines and fees were raised, but the basic imbalance did not change.
Which brings us to today. To deal with the on-going budget crisis, the city was offering buy-outs and taking other reductions last year, even before Covid-19 hit the economy. I know the problem is real and has to be dealt with, but what hasn’t happened this time is any kind of public education process to let people know what’s at stake and allow them to voice their opinions. Information leaks out piecemeal, with no context.
The events and reductions in services such as at the senior center, parks, and the library are the direct result of staff cuts. When people see uncut grass in parks, weeds proliferating, fewer open hours at the library and no open hours at the senior center, and none of the recreational or cultural events that define us as a community and have made Everett a great place to live, they need to remember that it has been city staff that made all of those things happen for them.
I came away from my experience on the Structural Deficit Team concluding that the only way to stabilize the city’s budget problem long term, barring some sort of economic miracle, was to raise taxes. Ten years later, I still believe that’s true. Many people will find this idea anathema, but I think we have to have an honest public conversation about what kind of community people want. When we can all finally safely get outside again, do we only care how small our tax bill is?
Or do we want a community where people, regardless of their means, can enjoy music in their well-kept parks, recreation programs for all ages, sculpture and flowers in their downtown, convenient access to library materials and programs for education and recreation, storytimes for children, and unique events such as Sorticulture; all without an admission fee? I know what I’d prefer, and I urge the mayor and City Council to begin having this conversation with their constituents.
Eileen Simmons lives in Everett.
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