$20 License Tab Fee Proposed in Everett. Other Taxes and Fees May Be On The Way Up

It should be an interesting City Council meeting in Everett Wednesday evening as Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson begins to roll out his plans for reducing a $13 Million dollar gap in the city’s finances. Among things the Mayor will be asking for are the formation of a Transportation Benefit District which would charge all vehicle owners within the Everett City limits a $20 license tab fee. That’s on top of whatever your current vehicle tabs cost. The fee is expected to bring in $1.2 million dollars to pay for a wide-ranging list of projects. According to the summary statement in a proposed ordinance…“Revenues generated by the TBD will be used for transportation improvements that preserve, maintain and operate the existing transportation infrastructure of the city and any other transportation improvements that are consistent with existing state, regional and local transportation plans.”

Other fees being presented at Wednesday night’s Everett City Council meeting include an increase in the business license fee, new utility taxes and a raise in the amounts of those utility taxes currently being collected, raising the fees charged for land use applications, permits and other planning fees. Other fee increases will be discussed along with a better idea of which city services may be cut if the city council does not agree with the Mayor’s suggestions. You can click here for the Council Agenda which includes details to several of the proposals.

You can also see more specific cuts here, including elimination of lifeguards at Silver Lake, dropping the bookmobile and eliminating 15 positions from the city budget.

The meeting is set for Wednesday night at 6:30 in the Everett City Council Chambers at 3002 Wetmore. You can also view it on Comcast and Frontier cable as well as online. There will be a public hearing on the suggestions some time in the next few weeks and none of the proposed ordinances would take effect immediately.

[ad#Google 4]