Everett City Council Approves Security Guards For Downtown Everett – Mayor Looks To Add 9 Positions To Everett PD

At last Wednesday’s City Council meeting the Everett City Council unanimously approved (council member Vogeli was absent) spending $187,500.00 to fund and manage a contract with a security provider to offer increased security in downtown Everett, Washington.

According to the summary provided to the City Council the money is coming from Snohomish County who is using ARPA funds. The financial summary says the money is earmarked to be used for increased security in the downtown area, which have been negatively impacted by the supplemental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project summary document states increased patrols will be emphasized around emergency and cold weather shelters within the downtown Everett area that have additional security needs as well as other high-impact areas. The grant is expected to support six months of security services and is set to expire at the end of June 2024.

$178,125.00 is designated for professional services and another $9375.00 for City of Everett Administration of the program.

Prior to that vote, during the meeting of the City Council’s budget committee, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin advised that in her 2024 budget request her priorities are public safety and human needs and she is asking for 9 new positions to be added to the Everett Police Department.

Seven of those positions would be uniformed officers and two of the positions would be civilian. The money for the positions would come from an earlier COPS Grant which was approved by the Everett City Council in September 2020. Mayor Franklin told the City Council that the timeline to use the grant dollars is running out and this is the final year that Everett can use the COPS Grant dollars which will cover the cost of those seven uniformed positions for three years.

You can see the Mayors remarks to the council committee below.

 

Mayor Franklin also told the council that the budget will be balanced and this year there are no program cuts or department reductions planned. In fact five positions will be added to try and bring some departments back to where they need to be to meet demand for services.

She also said that the structural deficit remains and for 2025 the City will need to look to a vote of the people to fund all of the services Everett currently provides. Here’s where Everett sits with the structural deficit looking forward over the next six years.