Everett City Council Approves Mayor’s Request For Increased Fees and Taxes

Last night the Everett City Council approved all of Mayor Ray Stephanson’s proposed ordinances to try to close a $13 Million dollar budget gap. Among the items approved…

• Current Utility and Natural Gas Taxes will be going from 4.5% to 6% on January 1, 2015.
• Cable TV service and garbage collection will be taxed at 2% on January 1, 2015, automatically increasing to 4% in 2016 and topping at 6% in 2017.
• A Transportation Benefit District will be created and operated by the Everett City Council. They can then choose to implement a $20.00 license tab fee for every vehicle registered in the Everett city limits or they could raise the sales tax so more than just Everett vehicle owners would be paying for maintaining Everett’s streets.
• The fee for an Everett City Business License will be going from $10.00 to $75.00 and will renew every year.
• The traffic mitigation fee developers pay on their projects will rise from $900.00 to $2400.00 on January 1, 2015.
  If your vehicle is impounded, you’ll have to pay any outstanding traffic fines before it will be released.
• It will cost more to have plans reviewed, submit land use applications and conduct business with Everett’s Department of Planning and Community Development with the fees now subject to review each year.

Mayor Stephanson stressed that this is just phase 1 of his plan to fill the city’s growing budget gap and that phase 2 consists of reviewing city departments to look for ways to cut spending and build efficiency. Some council members expressed their desire that the review process should come before raising any taxes and fees but in the end all of the increases were approved.

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