Q: What is Everett, Washington’s plan to close its $14 million 2027 budget deficit?

A: Everett finance staff project a $14 million general fund shortfall for 2027 — larger than the $12.6 million 2024 gap that forced 31 layoffs. Mayor Cassie Franklin has named four levers under active consideration: regionalizing fire services through a Regional Fire Authority, regionalizing libraries by joining Sno-Isle Libraries, a property tax levy lid lift, and annexing parts of the urban growth area starting with the Mariner neighborhood (about 21,000 residents). Three of the four require voter approval. Decisions will sequence through fall 2026 budget hearings and the November 2026 ballot.

Everett’s $14 Million 2027 Budget Decision: A Complete Guide to the Four Levers on the Table

Everett, Washington is staring down a $14 million general fund deficit for the 2027 budget — and for the first time in more than a decade, every major lever the city has to close it is publicly on the table at once. Regional fire authority. Regional libraries through Sno-Isle. A new property tax levy lid lift. Annexation of unincorporated south Everett, starting with the 21,000-person Mariner neighborhood. Three of those four require a vote of the people. The fourth almost certainly does too.

This is the structural moment Mayor Cassie Franklin warned about during her March 6, 2026 keynote address. “We cannot cut our way to a sustainable future,” Franklin said, citing the need for “economic growth and new pathways to long-term, sustainable revenue.” This guide explains how Everett got here, what each of the four levers would actually do, what residents would see on their tax bills, and what to watch between now and the November 2026 election.

How Everett Built a Structural Deficit

The root cause is a state law most Everett residents have never heard of. Under Initiative 747, approved by Washington voters in 2001, cities can raise their regular property tax levy by only 1 percent per year without going back to the ballot. The cost of running a city — police, fire, parks, libraries, streets, public works — rises faster than that. In most years, public-sector costs grow with wages and inflation, in the 3 to 5 percent range. The gap compounds.

Everett’s 2026 budget, approved unanimously by the City Council on November 19, 2025 at $613 million, papered over the gap by pausing some pension contributions and using one-time funds to avoid layoffs. The 2024 budget was harder: a $12.6 million deficit forced 31 layoffs. Now the 2027 projection has reached $14 million, and the one-time tools have already been used.

Lever One: A Regional Fire Authority

“Regional fire” is shorthand for a Regional Fire Authority, or RFA — a separate Washington government entity authorized under Chapter 52.26 RCW that provides fire and emergency medical services across multiple jurisdictions and is funded by its own voter-approved property tax and benefit charges. Cities across Washington have moved to RFAs over the past decade because the structure shifts fire costs off general-fund budgets that are squeezed by the 1 percent cap.

For Everett, an RFA would likely mean joining or forming a multi-jurisdictional authority covering parts of south Snohomish County. Residents would still get fire service from what would functionally look like the same department. They would see a separate line on their property tax bill for the RFA. The city’s general fund would no longer carry the fire department’s cost.

An RFA does not usually raise total household taxes on day one because the new RFA levy is offset by a reduction in the city’s portion. Over time, however, RFAs have flexibility to raise their own levies that cities under the 1 percent cap don’t have. Creating or joining an RFA requires voter approval in each participating jurisdiction.

Lever Two: Joining Sno-Isle Libraries

Everett currently runs the Everett Public Library as a city department, with branches downtown and in Evergreen. Most of the surrounding area — including the Mariner neighborhood Everett is studying for annexation — is served by Sno-Isle Libraries, a regional library district covering most of Snohomish and Island counties and funded by its own voter-approved property tax.

Regionalizing would mean dissolving the city’s library operation and annexing Everett into the Sno-Isle district. Residents would still have libraries. The city would no longer budget for them. The cost would shift to a separate Sno-Isle levy, which is also subject to the 1 percent cap but sits on a cleaner structural footing because it isn’t competing with police, fire, streets, and parks for the same pool of money.

Like the RFA path, a Sno-Isle annexation would require voter approval and would typically produce a roughly neutral total tax change on day one — the city’s portion drops as the Sno-Isle portion is added.

Lever Three: Another Levy Lid Lift

Under state law, cities can ask voters to temporarily or permanently raise the property tax levy above the 1 percent cap. Everett tried this in April 2024, asking voters to raise the city’s regular property tax levy from $1.52 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.19 per $1,000 — about $336 per year more for the average homeowner. Voters rejected it decisively.

Any 2026 or 2027 attempt has to contend with that result. Smaller ask. Shorter duration. A package that pairs a lift with specific spending commitments residents can see — a public safety levy, for example, instead of a general-purpose ask. Other Washington cities have passed targeted levies after stand-alone general lifts failed.

Lever Four: Annexation, Starting With Mariner

On April 8, 2026, the Everett City Council approved a $250,000 budget amendment — $200,000 to fund a consulting study of potential annexation, with the Mariner neighborhood as Mayor Franklin’s stated top priority, and $50,000 for a Casino Road subarea plan. City spokesperson Simone Tarver called the vote “just a first step in the process.”

Mariner sits mostly west of Interstate 5, south of the current city limits. About 21,000 people live there today. It includes Mariner High School, a Sno-Isle Libraries branch, several busy bus routes, and a planned Sound Transit light rail station on the Everett Link Extension. Everett’s full urban growth area — the land the state already considers part of the city’s future footprint — contains roughly 47,690 people. Annexing all of it would push Everett’s population from about 111,000 to about 159,000, a 43 percent increase.

Annexation grows the property tax base, brings in state-issued sales tax credits available to cities annexing more than 10,000 residents at once, and expands the denominator the city can spread fixed costs across. It is not free revenue — annexed residents need services that cost money to provide. The $200,000 study is designed to model whether the math works in 2026 in a way it did not work when Everett walked away from a much larger annexation in 2008.

What Residents Would and Would Not See on a Tax Bill

Three of the four levers — RFA, Sno-Isle library annexation, levy lift — would require voter approval. The fourth, annexation of Mariner or other UGA areas, would very likely require a vote too, depending on the legal method chosen. The dollar impact differs by lever:

• RFA — usually neutral on the total bill day one; the city portion drops as the RFA portion is added. Long-term, RFAs have more flexibility to raise rates.
• Sno-Isle library annexation — same structural pattern as the RFA. Neutral day one; new revenue stream over time.
• Levy lid lift — directly raises the total bill. The 2024 attempt would have added about $336 per year for the average homeowner.
• Annexation — raises bills for newly annexed residents (who switch from county to city tax rates) but not for existing city residents.

The Decision Calendar

Mayor Franklin is expected to deliver her 2027 preliminary budget proposal to the City Council in the early fall, on Everett’s standard budget calendar. Between now and then, the city will refine cost projections, receive interim findings from the Mariner annexation study, and engage with the local fire district and Sno-Isle Libraries on regionalization conversations. Any ballot measure intended for the November 3, 2026 general election would need to be finalized by early August 2026.

The decisions to watch, in order: the annexation study findings (expected late 2026 or early 2027), the fall 2026 preliminary budget, whether the city places a regional fire or library question on the November ballot, and whether a new levy lid lift returns to voters in 2026 or 2027. Each decision narrows the set of options that remain.

What Is Already Being Done

The 2026 budget uses one-time funds and pension pauses to hold staffing flat through this year. That buys time but not a solution. The Council has approved both the annexation study and the Casino Road subarea plan, both on April 8. Beyond that, the city has pointed to broader economic momentum — continued housing construction, new business licenses, the Boeing 737 North Line opening at Paine Field, and the Millwright District and Waterfront Place developments — as long-term revenue drivers. None of those arrive in time to close the 2027 gap on their own.

Everett’s structural revenue challenge is not unique among Washington cities, but the simultaneity of the four levers Franklin has named is unusual. Most cities pick one tool and run it. Everett may end up running several at once. That is what a $14 million gap with the easy moves already used looks like in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is Everett’s projected 2027 budget deficit?

Everett finance staff project a $14 million general fund shortfall for the 2027 budget. That is larger than the $12.6 million deficit in 2024, which forced 31 layoffs.

What are the four levers Mayor Franklin has named?

Regionalizing fire services through a Regional Fire Authority, regionalizing libraries by joining the Sno-Isle Libraries district, asking voters for a property tax levy lid lift, and annexing parts of the urban growth area starting with the Mariner neighborhood.

How many of those levers require voter approval?

Three of the four — the RFA, the Sno-Isle library annexation, and the levy lid lift — require voter approval. Annexation also typically requires a vote, depending on the legal method chosen.

Will regionalizing fire or libraries raise my property taxes?

Not usually on day one. The new RFA or Sno-Isle levy is typically offset by a reduction in the city’s portion of the property tax. Over time, both districts have more flexibility to raise rates than cities under the 1 percent cap have.

Why did the 2024 Everett levy lid lift fail at the ballot?

Voters rejected it. The proposal would have raised Everett’s regular property tax levy from $1.52 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.19 per $1,000 — about $336 per year more for the average homeowner.

How does the 1 percent property tax cap work?

Under Initiative 747, approved by Washington voters in 2001, most cities can only raise their regular property tax levy by 1 percent per year without going to voters. Public-sector costs typically grow at 3 to 5 percent annually, which is the structural source of Everett’s gap.

When will Everett decide which levers to use?

Mayor Franklin is expected to present a preliminary 2027 budget to the City Council in the fall of 2026. Any ballot measures for the November 3, 2026 general election must be finalized by early August. The Mariner annexation study is expected to conclude in late 2026 or early 2027.

Could Everett use more than one lever at once?

Yes. The four levers address different parts of the structural problem — regionalization shifts costs off the general fund, annexation grows the base, a levy lift raises the rate. Policymakers often combine these tools rather than picking one. Everett may run two or three in parallel through the November 2026 election.