Mayor Presents Budget Plan For 2021 To Everett City Council

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin made her initial budget proposal for 2021 to the city council Wednesday night. The Mayor told the council members that this has undeniably been the most difficult year Everett has faced in her lifetime and that of the council members. There is currently a $10 million dollar shortfall in the budget and a $10+ million dollar deficit in each of the five years ahead. She presented plans to fill the 2021 shortfall carrying forward many of the cuts made to the 2020 budget and not pre-funding LEOFF retirement contributions for one year.

Some of the highlights of her message included.

Embedded social workers will be transferred out of the Police Department and into the Community Development team and one more social worker will be added to the two already budgeted

Three new police officers will be added from the recently approved COPS grant. Two bicycle officers and a motorcycle officer

Reductions started in 2020 will continue to 2021 including Senior Center, Forest Park Pool, Community events

Placing an increased focus on equity and addressing systemic racism

Pursuing forming or joining a Regional Fire Authority with neighboring jurisdictions

Assessing the police department regarding staffing, patrol scheduling and deployment, community policing and technology

Rethinking Transit, Rethinking Zoning and asset management planning for water and sewer infrastructure

Fighting for aerospace jobs and also jobs that support a green economy

The Administration presented several examples of the cuts that would take place in order to trim a little more than $10 million dollars from the 2021 budget to bring it into balance. Here are a few examples of the cuts.

You can see the slides from the workshop presented to the council here. Revenue Expenditure Workshop 9-16-20

This first presentation was a high level overview and more information will be made available to council members including a line-by-line detail of the spending plans. The city has a section of their website dedicated to the 2021 budget and citizens are being urged to participate in the budget deliberations.