Everett City Council Community Health and Safety Committee Meeting Summary - April 1, 2026
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Everett City Council Community Health and Safety Committee Meeting – April 1, 2026
The Everett City Council Community Health and Safety Committee met Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 5:00 PM in City Council Chambers. Councilmember Weir presided according to the transcript, although the printed agenda listed Councilmember Tuohy as chair; Council President Don Schwab was present. The committee reordered the agenda at the start, moving the legislative session debrief to the end so the mayor's youth violence prevention update could be heard while Youth Advisory Board guests were present. No formal motions or votes were taken.
Mayor's Youth Violence Prevention Directive
- Police Chief Robert Getz reported on efforts aligned with the mayor's 2018, 2023, and 2025 directives, structured around prevention, intervention, and enforcement.
- Prevention: School resource officers are assigned to Everett High School, Cascade High School, North Middle School, Eisenhower Middle School, and Evergreen Middle School. One of two vacant SRO positions was filled for the 2025 school year; the remaining vacancy is projected to be filled at the start of the 2026-2027 school year. Eisenhower and Evergreen currently share one SRO.
- Other prevention efforts include the Casino Road Soccer Camp, the police STEM Academy, Boys and Girls Club events, and a new Boys and Girls Club near Casino Road.
- Volunteers of Police Services removed graffiti in the Casino Road and Lyons Park areas, achieving more than 60 consecutive days without graffiti; Casino Road was tagged again about two weeks ago and has since been painted over.
- Intervention: Since the Access Project Partnership launched in September 2025, police have referred 10 youth to it, the most recent referral occurring last week. Twelve youth have been referred to the Latino Civic Alliance's 'I Am Jaguar' program, which is currently on hold while it seeks funding. Lieutenant John Carr was assigned as liaison to Hear Me WA, an anonymous reporting option; no referrals have been received through that system yet.
- Enforcement: Juvenile suspect numbers are roughly flat, down about 2% compared with the prior three years; juvenile firearm-related arrests and gang-related juvenile suspects are up about 23%; juvenile victimization is down 20%. Property and violent crime suspects decreased, while arrests did not decline at the same rate.
- Chief Getz gave an example in which ALPR technology identified a suspect vehicle after a Casino Road graffiti reoccurrence, leading to juvenile arrests and recovery of several stolen firearms.
- The department is exploring another 'guns for gift card' event in 2026, pending funding.
- Kylie and Eva from the Mayor's Youth Advisory Board described the board's 16 members, monthly meetings, and current focus on youth safety. Their initiatives include a youth-led safety social media campaign covering online safety, drug safety, transportation safety, and youth engagement, and safety panels with Mayor Franklin and Chief Getz at North Middle School, Everett High School, Sequoia High School, and Eisenhower Middle School.
- Councilmember Bader asked whether outside offenders were driving the negative statistics. Chief Getz said anecdotally that is the case and will provide data on juvenile violent crime suspects by city residency.
Emphasis Patrols and Traffic Safety Update
- Chief Getz said traffic safety remains a frequent community concern and the strategy focuses on speed, red-light violations, DUI, and targeted emphasis patrols.
- The traffic safety unit expanded from one to three motorcycle officers in December 2025, enabling more emphasis patrols; the department is on pace to return to 189 emphasis patrols, matching 2024 levels.
- Traffic stops increased year over year, with approximately 2,400 additional traffic stops projected for 2025. Collision data is trending downward, with a projected reduction of about 400 collisions in 2026.
- The department uses Washington Traffic Safety Commission data from anonymized insurance telematics to identify high-risk locations; about 3% of area commuters are in the sample, and results are consistent with enforcement observations.
- On West Marine View Drive, police issued nearly 400 tickets in 2025 and added four overtime enforcement patrols this month, funded by automated traffic enforcement revenue.
- Traffic Safety Unit Sergeant Craig Davis is working with stakeholders to establish a youth traffic court. Successful completion would allow a young driver's infraction to be dismissed and not reported to the Department of Licensing.
- Councilmembers expressed appreciation for the emphasis patrols and for using automated enforcement revenue for traffic safety. One councilmember urged consideration of emphasis patrols for tinted windows, modified mufflers, and loud noise, suggesting those violations are often tied to other illegal activity. Another councilmember asked whether additional red-light or speed cameras are being considered; Chief Getz said the program is not housed in the police department, but it could be considered with traffic engineers.
Legislative Session Debrief
- Staff member Jennifer reported on state legislative outcomes relevant to the committee.
- Indigent defense: The city and Association of Washington Cities advocated for increased state support but saw no real wins; a services-related sales tax change could create a prospective fiscal hit, so staff called the overall result 'not great' and a topic for future sessions.
- Housing: The capital budget included increases for housing and homelessness and funding for manufactured home park acquisition and preservation. Jennifer said she had not yet researched the manufactured home park item. Councilmember Bader expressed strong interest because the city is looking at preserving mobile home parks.
- STEP housing bills: New state law codifies systems Everett already uses to support siting of shelter, transitional, emergency, and permanent supportive housing, and directs other cities to do the same. Management or 'good neighbor' plans can be used in development review, but the scope for denying a permit based on them is limited. Jennifer said Everett uses these plans collaboratively rather than punitively.
- Buffer zones: A bill that would have restricted the city's authority to use buffer zones on city streets did not pass, which staff described as a good outcome.
- Automated license plate readers: The state passed regulations covering ALPR systems such as Everett's Flock cameras, including privacy protections and exemption of data from disclosure, and allowing use for felonies and gross misdemeanors. Councilmember Bader noted that the Pierce County Sheriff has raised concerns about parts of the ALPR camera system and asked for staff analysis of implications for Everett.
- Public safety sales tax: Efforts to fix House Bill 2015 did not move. Three cities have now received certification from the Criminal Justice Training Commission; Everett has submitted its paperwork and is optimistic. The certification is a one-time approval.
Key Outcomes
- The committee reordered the agenda so the youth violence prevention update and Youth Advisory Board presentation came before the legislative debrief.
- No votes or formal motions were taken; all items were informational.
- Chief Getz agreed to provide Councilmember Bader data on juvenile violent crime suspects by residency.
- Staff will research the capital budget funding for manufactured home park acquisition and preservation.
- The committee will monitor state ALPR regulations and the city's pending public safety sales tax certification.
- The next committee meeting will be the Snohomish County Jail Tour; the transcript mentioned May 1 initially and then settled on Wednesday, May 6.
Meeting Transcript
There we are. Hello, City of Everett residents and those here with us today. I'd like to welcome you to the Community Health and Safety Council Committee meeting for April 1st, 2026. I have with me Council President Don Schwab, and we've got some special guests. Um the agenda is a legislative session debrief. Jennifer. Yes, I was wondering if we could put that at the end and maybe take the next item, the mayor's youth violence prevention directive for all these folks to help share. That's fantastic. What a great suggestion. Thank you. Okay, I'll let them take it away then. All right. Good afternoon, uh, Councilman Weir, Council President Schwab, uh, Robert Getz, Chief of Police. Thanks for the invite to provide you our uh law enforcement perspective and give you an update on our efforts toward um reducing youth violence and increasing youth safety in our community. This continues to be a key priority for our department and for the city as a whole and reflects the mayor's sustained commitment to your reducing youth violence, dating back to when uh she first took office in 2018 and reinforced through subsequent directives in 2023 and 2025. The work I'll describe today is directly aligned with the 2025 renewed commitment to youth safety and many of the efforts underway as a result of that directive and continue council support. At its core, youth safety is not the responsibility of any single organization. It is truly a whole community effort, one that requires engagement before, during, and after an incident of violence occurs. Our approach is structured around three core components: prevention, intervention, and enforcement. Starting with prevention. This is where we focus much of our efforts because it's where we have the greatest impact long term. At the center of our effort are our school resource officers who serve as our first line of engagement with youth. This is a key element of the mayor's 2025 directive. Today, we have school resource officers assigned to the Everett High School, Cascade High School, as well as North Explorer Eisenhower and Evergreen Middle Schools. At the beginning of 2025 school year, we filled one of our two vacant SRO positions, expanding our ability to build relationships and intervene early. We are also working to fill our last vacant uh position projected at the start of the 2026-2027 school year, so that we can return to a full-time coverage at Eisenhower Middle School and Evergreen Middle School right now. That those two schools are split between one school resource officer. Beyond the safety setting, we are continuing to expand our opportunity for positive engagement with uh youth in the community. Another emphasis area in the mayoral directives. This this includes programs like the Casino Road Soccer Camp, our police STEM Academy, our partnerships with the boys and girls club through events like the East uh Sports Gaming Competition and badges for baseball. In addition, I want to highlight the recent announcement uh announced partnership between the city and boys and girls club to establish a new club at or around Casino Road. This will create additional space and opportunity for meaningful engagement between our officers, youth in the area, where we know we will have connection, where we know that connections matter. Another important piece in the mayoral directives in is engagement is to engage area youth in a discussion about violence and violence prevention. With me tonight are two members of the mayor's youth advisory board, Kylie and Eva. I'll let them talk about what they're doing. Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm Kylie, this year's admin, and this is Eva, the city's intern. We're excited to share a little bit about Mayor Franklin's Youth Advisory Board, also known as YAB. What we do, why it matters, and what we're currently working on. YAB is made up of high schoolers from different parts of Everett Everett's community. And each member brings something unique. From their personal background to their interests, we all have something to bring to the table. We also work alongside city staff who help guide conversations and make sure our ideas can turn into action. The mayor's youth advisory board was established in 2019 by Mayor Franklin to elevate youth voices in shaping Everett's future. This year we have 16 members who represent a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Each year, YAB focuses on different topics and themes that are affecting Everett. And this year, YAP has chosen to focus and work with Mayor Frank Franklin on youth safety. We wanted to take what we've seen and experience and turn those insights into meaningful actions. By sharing our voices, we aim to help create solutions that reflect the real needs of young people in Everett.
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