Quick answer for Everett residents: The Snohomish County Charter Review Commission’s May 2026 hearings (May 13 Arlington, May 20 Monroe, May 27 Mountlake Terrace, all 5:30 p.m.) decide which of five amendments make it to your November ballot. Two of them — Proposal 21 (four-vote supermajority to raise taxes) and Proposal 13 (foundational services funded first) — would directly change how the county funds the services your property tax bill pays for. Proposal 5 would remove party labels from your ballot for the County Executive and your County Councilmember races. May 29 is the deadline; after that the commission cannot add or remove amendments.
If you’ve ever opened your Snohomish County property tax bill and wondered who decides where that money goes, the next three Wednesdays in May are the answer. The 2026 Charter Review Commission — a 15-member elected body that only meets once every ten years — is one vote away from sending the County Council a package of constitutional changes that would reshape how those decisions get made.
This is a guide for Everett residents who don’t follow county government every week but want to understand how May 29 affects their November ballot, their property tax bill, and the services the county delivers within Everett’s city limits.
What the County Actually Does for Everett Residents
Before the proposals, the table-setting: Snohomish County is responsible for the courts you’d interact with for almost any criminal or civil matter, the jail, the elections office that runs Everett ballots, the assessor that values your home for property tax purposes, the prosecutor’s office, county-level public health, the road system outside city limits that you drive every day, and a long list of human services programs (housing assistance, behavioral health, veterans services) that serve Everett residents from county facilities.
The City of Everett runs its own police, fire, water, parks, planning, and city streets. But the county is the bigger taxing authority in your bill, and the county’s budget decisions ripple into everything from how fast a 911 medical call gets routed to whether the courthouse downtown can keep evening hours open.
Proposal 21 — The Tax Vote Most Likely to Affect Your Bill
Proposal 21 raises the County Council’s tax-increase threshold from three votes (simple majority) to four votes (supermajority). The five-member council currently passes any tax measure with three. Under Proposal 21, four would be required.
What this means for an Everett resident in plain English: if you generally want it harder for the county to raise your property tax or impose a new fee, this is your “yes” vote. If you want the council to keep its current ability to fund services with a working majority — including in a downturn when emergency revenue might be needed — this is your “no” vote.
The honest middle: a four-vote supermajority requires broader political coalition than three. In normal years, that’s a brake. In a downturn, that’s also a brake — and the brake works the same way in both directions, which is why some fiscally cautious residents are surprisingly split on the proposal.
Proposal 13 — Funding Order
Proposal 13 doesn’t raise or lower taxes. It says: when the council builds the annual budget, fund “foundational government services” first. Discretionary spending comes after that.
For an Everett resident, the practical effect is felt when the budget gets tight. The discretionary stuff — community grants, optional pilot programs, certain quality-of-life investments — would be cut first when revenue falls short. Public safety, jails, courts, elections, and statutory obligations would be insulated. If you have a strong opinion about which of those should hurt first when there’s not enough money, Proposal 13 is your lever.
Proposal 14 — The Rainy-Day Fund
Proposal 14 creates a charter-protected county budget stabilization fund (a “rainy-day” fund) and requires four out of five councilmembers to vote to withdraw from it. That’s the same supermajority threshold as Proposal 21, but applied to spending the fund rather than raising taxes.
The structural logic: in a normal year, three councilmembers can’t drain the fund to plug a gap that’s actually a discretionary choice. In a real emergency, four can still vote to use it, even if one councilmember disagrees. For Everett residents who remember the 2008-2010 county budget rounds, this is essentially a constitutional commitment to maintain reserves for the next downturn.
Proposal 5 — Your Ballot
If Proposal 5 passes, the County Executive race, the County Prosecutor race, and your County Councilmember race would no longer show party preference next to the candidate’s name on your ballot. Today they do.
Most Everett residents are in County Council District 2 (the south-central county district that includes most of Everett south of Pacific Avenue). District 1 covers north Everett and points north. Either way, your councilmember race is on the affected list.
This is a values question, not a policy outcome question. If you think party label is useful information when filling out a ballot for a council race, vote no. If you think party label distracts from the candidate’s actual local record, vote yes.
Proposal 22 — Where to Look Up County Spending
Proposal 22 would charter-mandate a public financial transparency portal — a website where you can look up county spending, contracts, and employee compensation without filing a public records request. Useful for residents who follow how their tax money gets spent. The cost to implement is real but modest; several vendors offer turnkey government-data portals.
For an Everett resident who has ever wanted to verify a specific county expenditure or trace where a budget line went, Proposal 22 is the structural answer.
How to Show Up
The hearing closest to Everett is Wednesday, May 27 at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., 5:30 p.m. Public testimony is open. You don’t need to register; you sign in when you arrive, and the chair calls names in order.
If you can’t attend, the commission accepts written comment through its webpage on the Snohomish County official site. Written comment is read into the record and weighed alongside in-person testimony. The commission’s final adoption vote is May 29 — anything submitted after that doesn’t go to the council.
What Goes on Your November Ballot
Whatever the commission approves on May 29 goes to the County Council for additional hearings (those happen in summer 2026). The council finalizes ballot summary language but cannot rewrite the amendments themselves. Then in November 2026, you’ll see those amendments alongside the contested County Council races, the August 4 primary survivors, the city of Everett’s separate charter review questions, and any state and federal races.
For the full picture of what’s coming in November, see our 2026 Primary Voter Guide and our 2026 Dual Charter Review explainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which County Council district is Everett in?
Everett is split between Council District 1 (north Everett and points north) and Council District 2 (south-central, including most of Everett south of Pacific Avenue). Whichever district you’re in, your councilmember’s race would lose its party label on the ballot if Proposal 5 passes.
Will Proposal 21 lower my property tax?
No. Proposal 21 doesn’t lower or raise existing taxes. It changes the procedural threshold the County Council needs (four out of five votes instead of three) to pass future tax increases. Existing property tax levies aren’t affected.
Could the council raise my property tax before May 29?
The council has its own statutorily allowed annual property tax increase (1% per year, plus new construction). Charter amendments wouldn’t restrict that statutory authority — they only affect tax increases the council itself initiates above the statutory baseline.
How is this different from the City of Everett charter review?
The county charter review covers Snohomish County government. The city charter review covers City of Everett government. They’re on parallel tracks in 2026, run by different bodies, and could both appear on the November ballot as separate questions.
What if I support some proposals but not others?
Each amendment will appear separately on the November ballot. You can vote yes on Proposal 22 (transparency portal) and no on Proposal 21 (tax supermajority) without contradiction. The proposals are not bundled.
Where do I look up the full text of the proposals?
The Snohomish County Charter Review Commission posts proposal text and meeting materials on the county’s official website. Meeting recordings are also posted publicly so you can hear what’s been said before submitting written comment.
Leave a Reply