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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting Summary – May 27, 2026

City Council & Committees — Wednesday, May 27, 2026

BodyEverett, Washington

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateWednesday, May 27, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:15:17

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:04

Good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington.

0:06

I'd like to call the order, the Everett City Council meeting of May 27, 2026.

0:11

For information on council meetings and how to participate, please visit Everett Wad.gov slash city council.

0:18

Please note that we do not allow comments of any kind of campaigning, whether for against ballot measures or candidates running for office.

0:25

We also do not accept comments focused on personal matters that are unrelated to city business.

0:31

We have some um changes in the agenda today.

0:35

Um we will be moving the items and I'm going to go ahead and list them by uh council bill numbers.

0:43

So if you're taking notes, um after council bill 2605 or 08, I'm sorry, 2605-28.

0:52

We will go be going to Council Bill uh 260526 and then to Council Bill 260527, and then at the end, we'll be we'll be doing 260525 for the record.

1:10

Clerk, will you please take the wall?

1:12

Mayor Franklin here, Councilmember Weir.

1:14

Here, Councilmember Zarlingo.

1:16

Excuse Vice President Ryan.

1:17

Here.

1:18

Councilmember Burbano.

1:19

Here.

1:19

Councilmember Tui.

1:21

Here.

1:21

Councilmember Bader.

1:22

He's excused.

1:23

President Schwab.

1:24

I'm here.

1:25

At this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:29

Stan if you're able.

1:32

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

1:37

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:40

One nation under God.

1:43

The liberty and justice for all.

1:47

Thank you, President.

1:48

At this time, I'd like to ask Vice President Ryan to lead the land acknowledgement.

1:52

City Council wishes to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahopes people and their successors, the Toleb tribes.

1:58

Since time immemorial, they have hunted, fished, gathered on, and taken care of these lands and waters.

2:04

We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and waters.

2:10

We will strive to be honest about our past mistakes to bring about a future that includes their voices, their stories, and their people for a more just and equitable society.

2:19

Thank you very much.

2:20

Well, good afternoon, Mayor.

2:23

Good afternoon, President Schwab.

2:26

It's a beautiful day.

2:27

Hope everyone gets a chance to go out and enjoy it.

2:30

Tomorrow is a big Sound Transit meeting.

2:32

So I anticipate taking a vote that will help uh keep the Everett Link extension on track.

2:38

Um it's a the board's making a lot of tough choices, and there's a lot of advocacy to do things differently.

2:45

But I'll begin raising my voice to ensure that we complete the spine from Everett to Tacoma.

2:51

Uh right now the package uh proposes doing that uh without cutting any stations.

2:57

Um but if you are able, um it would be great to have uh folks speak at the board meeting.

3:02

You can um log in via Zoom or go in person.

3:06

I'll be there in person.

3:07

Uh you can also send comments to meeting comments at sound transit.org.

3:12

Um, or you can sign up to speak at the meeting at on the Sound Transit website.

3:17

Uh the meeting is Thursday, 1 30 at Union Station.

3:21

And uh look forward to taking that vote tomorrow to keep light rail on track to Everett.

3:25

No further comments.

3:27

Um, question on the if someone wanted to speak.

3:30

I am I understand you have one minute.

3:32

Yeah, you know, it depends on the will of the chair.

3:36

Um it could be two minutes, but you could you know at least prepare for just one minute, but you might get two minutes.

3:42

And do we sign up online in advance?

3:44

When does that when you can sign up online in in advance, but you can also sign up right at the meeting, or you can come to union station too.

3:52

But yes.

3:53

Thank you very much.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████47%

Water And Wastewater Management███████████████████20%

Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%

Public Transportation█████████9%

Community Engagement██████6%

Parks and Recreation███3%

Public Engagement██2%

Pending Litigation█1%

Environmental Protection█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting Summary – May 27, 2026

The Everett City Council held its regular meeting on May 27, 2026, at 3:30 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting included a public hearing and final votes on utility rate adjustments, a new utility tax, and several consent and action items. Council also heard public comments on the proposed utility tax and on potential changes to paratransit services.

Consent Calendar

Approved minutes of May 20, 2026, unanimously.
Adopted Resolution authorizing claims against the City in the amount of $5,002,460.15 for the period ending May 15, 2026.
Authorized the Mayor to execute lease agreements with Pelham Group NW LLC and Citrine Health at Everett Station.
Authorized the Council President and Mayor to sign a Resolution urging the Governor to designate eight Snohomish County census tracts as Opportunity Zones.
Authorized the Mayor to accept and sign a FEMA State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Agreement. All consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

Jeff Clark (Mucklteo resident) opposed the proposed utility tax on water sales to outside customers, arguing it constitutes "taxation without representation" because non-Everett residents cannot vote on the tax. He urged the council to reject the ordinance.
Joe Bennett (General Counsel, Alderwood Water and Wastewater District) spoke on behalf of approximately 300,000 ratepayers outside Everett, opposing the 12% utility tax on wholesale water purchases. He called it unlawful and warned of potential legal action and class-action lawsuits.
Jim Langus (Everett resident) questioned the urgency of the utility rate increase, stating it was being marketed as necessary for infrastructure projects but was actually intended to address a budget deficit. He argued the city has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and urged consideration of residents who cannot afford further tax increases.
Pauline Anderson (Everett resident) opposed the potential consolidation of Everett Paratransit with Community Transit’s DART system, noting the current system is reliable with kind drivers and a well-run call center, while DART had left her waiting long periods.
Elaine Keasey (Everett resident) also urged the council not to merge paratransit with DART, citing instances where DART made her late or stranded her without a ride.

Discussion Items

CB 2605-29 (Rotary Park Floating Dock Repairs) – First Reading: No discussion. Third and final reading scheduled for June 10, 2026.
CB 2605-28 (Massage and Reflexology Services) – Second Reading: Councilmember Ryan expressed hope that building owners and property managers would be included in the ordinance to hold all parties financially benefiting from sex trafficking accountable; the final reading is set for June 3, 2026.
CB 2605-26 (Utility Rate Increase) – Public Hearing & Final Reading: Public testimony was heard and the hearing was closed. Councilmembers discussed the relationship between the rate increase and the separate utility tax. Staff clarified that the rate increase adjusts utility rates upward to cover the increased tax (moving from 6% to 12% utility tax), plus $1 added to the base filtration rate for early debt retirement. The impact on a typical residential customer is estimated at $12/month for the remainder of 2026, $13/month in 2027, and $14/month in 2028. Councilmember Tuï requested that information about financial assistance programs be included on utility bills; staff stated the current low-income assistance maximum will rise from $700 to $875 and that further expansion options (e.g., using area median income, a

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington. I'd like to call the order, the Everett City Council meeting of May 27, 2026. For information on council meetings and how to participate, please visit Everett Wad.gov slash city council. Please note that we do not allow comments of any kind of campaigning, whether for against ballot measures or candidates running for office. We also do not accept comments focused on personal matters that are unrelated to city business. We have some um changes in the agenda today. Um we will be moving the items and I'm going to go ahead and list them by uh council bill numbers. So if you're taking notes, um after council bill 2605 or 08, I'm sorry, 2605-28. We will go be going to Council Bill uh 260526 and then to Council Bill 260527, and then at the end, we'll be we'll be doing 260525 for the record. Clerk, will you please take the wall? Mayor Franklin here, Councilmember Weir. Here, Councilmember Zarlingo. Excuse Vice President Ryan. Here. Councilmember Burbano. Here. Councilmember Tui. Here. Councilmember Bader. He's excused. President Schwab. I'm here. At this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Stan if you're able. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. The liberty and justice for all. Thank you, President. At this time, I'd like to ask Vice President Ryan to lead the land acknowledgement. City Council wishes to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahopes people and their successors, the Toleb tribes. Since time immemorial, they have hunted, fished, gathered on, and taken care of these lands and waters. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and waters. We will strive to be honest about our past mistakes to bring about a future that includes their voices, their stories, and their people for a more just and equitable society. Thank you very much. Well, good afternoon, Mayor. Good afternoon, President Schwab. It's a beautiful day. Hope everyone gets a chance to go out and enjoy it. Tomorrow is a big Sound Transit meeting. So I anticipate taking a vote that will help uh keep the Everett Link extension on track. Um it's a the board's making a lot of tough choices, and there's a lot of advocacy to do things differently. But I'll begin raising my voice to ensure that we complete the spine from Everett to Tacoma. Uh right now the package uh proposes doing that uh without cutting any stations. Um but if you are able, um it would be great to have uh folks speak at the board meeting. You can um log in via Zoom or go in person. I'll be there in person. Uh you can also send comments to meeting comments at sound transit.org. Um, or you can sign up to speak at the meeting at on the Sound Transit website. Uh the meeting is Thursday, 1 30 at Union Station.

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