Q: Does Everett have to vote on whether to end Everett Transit?
A: No. Under a 2025 Washington State law (SB 5801), the Everett City Council and the Community Transit Board of Directors can approve consolidation through a council vote and an interlocal agreement — no public ballot required. Mayor Franklin and Community Transit CEO Ric Ilgenfritz announced the consolidation effort on April 22, 2026. A council vote could come as early as late May or June 2026, though final implementation would take years.
Everett City Council Will Decide Whether to End Everett Transit — What the Vote Means for Riders, Workers, and Your Tax Bill
Everett’s 50-year-old municipal bus system is heading toward the biggest decision in its history — and residents won’t cast a ballot on it. Instead, the Everett City Council will vote on whether to dissolve Everett Transit and hand its routes, buses, and operations to Community Transit, the regional carrier that already serves the rest of Snohomish County. If the council says yes, Everett would become the first Washington city to voluntarily give up a standalone transit agency under a 2025 state law that bypasses a public vote entirely. Here is what that council vote means for every Everett resident, what the union representing transit workers says, and how you can make your voice heard before the council decides.
What Actually Happened on April 22
Mayor Cassie Franklin and Community Transit CEO Ric Ilgenfritz announced on April 22, 2026, that the two agencies are resuming joint work toward consolidation. The announcement was not a vote — it was a green light to begin drafting the interlocal agreement, conducting due diligence, and working through the legal framework before any governing bodies act.
The proposal would absorb Everett Transit — which operates 22 routes, employs 161 people, and serves an estimated 115,000 Everett residents — into Community Transit, which currently covers the rest of Snohomish County. A merged agency would serve roughly 800,000 people across the county, making it one of the largest transit networks in Washington State outside of King County Metro and Sound Transit.
Franklin framed the move as a direct response to Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail Extension, which — if approved on June 30 — would bring rail to Everett Station. “As light rail comes closer to reality, we need a transit system built for a light rail community,” Franklin said in the joint release. Ilgenfritz described the consolidation as “the next step in building a seamless, connected transit network across Snohomish County.”
The State Law That Makes This Possible Without a Public Vote
This consolidation is moving without a public ballot because Washington’s legislature passed SB 5801 in 2025, sponsored by Senator Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. The law allows a public transportation benefit area — which Community Transit is — to annex a municipal transit agency through a government-to-government interlocal agreement. Both governing boards must approve it. Voters do not.
That is a significant change from how transit mergers have worked historically in Washington. The original Sound Transit district, the Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area, was created in 1976 by a 79 percent public vote. This merger would happen entirely through elected officials, not the ballot box.
Under SB 5801, both the Everett City Council and the Community Transit Board of Directors must hold public hearings and approve the annexation before it takes effect. The public hearings are where residents can formally address their elected officials before the vote locks in.
What the City Council Must Actually Do — And When
The Everett City Council’s role is to vote on the interlocal agreement that would authorize Everett’s annexation into Community Transit’s service boundary. Before that vote, the council must hold at least one public hearing. Franklin told Everett Transit union members on April 18 that the council could be asked to vote as early as late May or June 2026. The official joint announcement from both agencies uses a more cautious timeline, stating the boards would consider the proposal “this fall.”
The Community Transit Board of Directors — which includes elected officials from cities across Snohomish County — would vote separately. Under the consolidation structure, Everett would gain seats on the Community Transit board proportional to its population, giving Everett elected officials an ongoing voice in system decisions.
Actual implementation — meaning the day Everett Transit stops operating as a standalone agency — would take years after a council vote, according to both agencies. Route planning, labor agreements, equipment transfers, and operational integration require substantial lead time.
What It Means for Your Tax Bill
Everett Transit is funded primarily by a dedicated transit sales tax that Everett voters approved. Community Transit is funded by a separate sales tax on Snohomish County purchases outside Everett. After consolidation, Everett’s transit sales tax revenue would flow into the combined Community Transit system.
Community Transit’s coverage currently levies a 0.9 percent sales tax on purchases in its service area. If Everett is annexed into that boundary, Everett residents and businesses would pay a sales tax that increases by 0.6 percentage points — from the current combined rate of approximately 9.90 percent to 10.50 percent. Projections from the Lynnwood Times estimate that generates approximately $29 million in new annual revenue beginning in 2027, totaling roughly $158 million over five years. That would make this one of the largest single sales tax increases in Snohomish County history.
The agencies project operational cost savings of between $2.4 million and $3.7 million annually once consolidated, from reduced administrative redundancy and shared maintenance infrastructure. Everett Transit’s fleet includes approximately 24 battery-electric buses with a capital asset value estimated near $10 million.
The Union Says Workers Weren’t at the Table
The strongest opposition to the consolidation has come from the workers who drive Everett’s buses. Steve Oss, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 883 — which has represented Everett Transit’s drivers, inspectors, and maintenance workers for over two decades — opposes the merger and the process used to get here.
“This method is frankly wrong,” Oss said, referring to the council-vote pathway that bypasses a public ballot. He has argued that the consolidation should require voter approval, as transit district formation did in 1976.
Oss also raised concerns about workers outside the ATU 883 bargaining unit — administrative and clerical staff who are not covered under the federal Section 13(c) labor protections that shield union drivers from layoffs in transit mergers. ATU 883 members are protected under federal law from involuntary termination as a result of annexation. Non-union Everett Transit employees do not have the same guaranteed protections.
A community group called Keep Everett Transit has launched at keepet.org to organize residents who want to preserve the local agency. Oss has noted that one of the operational advantages of a city-run transit system is its flexibility — when Everett needs buses for an event, emergency, or temporary free-fare day, it takes a call from the mayor. In a regional agency, those decisions go through a board and a bureaucracy.
What Riders Can Expect If Consolidation Happens
Ilgenfritz has committed publicly to no loss of service for existing Everett Transit riders during the transition. Community Transit operates a significantly larger fleet and route network, including Swift rapid bus lines and regional routes to Seattle, which Everett Transit does not currently offer. Supporters of the merger argue that Everett residents would gain access to a more extensive network and that future light rail connectivity would be better served by a unified regional carrier rather than two separate systems with different governance.
Critics, including Oss, point out that Everett Transit’s local knowledge and direct accountability to City Hall has allowed it to respond quickly to neighborhood needs — something harder to replicate in a county-scale agency governed by a multi-city board. There is also a pay disparity between the two agencies: Everett Transit paratransit workers earn approximately $42 per hour; Community Transit paratransit workers earn approximately $26 per hour. How collective bargaining will resolve that disparity is not yet determined.
The broader transit picture matters here: Sound Transit’s Everett Link Extension — if the board approves a funded path forward at its June 30 meeting — would require an integrated bus-rail feeder system. Both agencies argue consolidation is necessary infrastructure for that future. The Sound Transit board’s decision will significantly shape what transit in Everett looks like in the 2030s. Read more about the June 30 vote and what’s at stake for Everett in this explainer.
What to Do Next
- Attend the public hearing — Both the Everett City Council and Community Transit board are required to hold public hearings before any vote. Dates have not been announced yet. Watch the Everett City Council meeting calendar at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter for scheduling updates.
- Contact your Council Member — The Everett City Council has nine members representing districts. Find your representative and their contact information at everettwa.gov/citycouncil.
- Review the consolidation history — The city’s 2023 “More Transit Together” final report is available through Everett’s Transit Consolidation Study page at everettwa.gov/2786/Transit-Consolidation-Study.
- Follow Keep Everett Transit — The community organization opposing consolidation is operating at keepet.org.
- Sign up for city news flashes — The official consolidation announcement and future updates will be posted at everettwa.gov. Subscribe to City news flashes to receive updates automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Everett Transit disappear if the council votes yes?
Eventually, yes — Everett Transit as a standalone city agency would cease to exist and its operations would be absorbed into Community Transit. Implementation would take several years after a council vote.
Can residents stop the consolidation?
There is no public vote required under SB 5801. Residents can testify at public hearings, contact their council members, and organize through groups like Keep Everett Transit — but the final decision rests with the Everett City Council and Community Transit Board of Directors.
When will the Everett City Council vote?
Mayor Franklin indicated a council vote could come as early as late May or June 2026. The official joint agency timeline is “this fall.” No vote date has been formally set as of April 30, 2026.
Will my bus route change immediately after a vote?
No. Both agencies have committed to maintaining existing Everett Transit service throughout the transition period. Route and schedule changes would be part of a multi-year integration process.
Will this increase my sales taxes?
Yes. Everett residents and businesses would pay a sales tax rate increase of approximately 0.6 percentage points if Everett is annexed into Community Transit’s service area — one of the largest such increases in Snohomish County history.
What happens to Everett Transit workers?
ATU Local 883 members (drivers, mechanics, inspectors) are protected under federal Section 13(c) labor law from involuntary layoffs due to the merger. Non-union administrative staff do not have equivalent federal protections. Labor negotiations are ongoing.
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