Resolution 7984 - Laserfiche WebLink

RESOLUTION NO. 7984 A RESOLUTION of the City of Everett to Explore Placing a Revenue Ballot Measure on the November 2024 Election WHEREAS, 1. The City of Everett’s General Government has been enduring a structural budget deficit for many years; and 2. The primary cause of the City’s structural budget deficit is the one percent limit on property tax growth enacted through Initiative 747; and 3. The cost of delivering public services grows at a rate that is greater than one percent per year; and 4. The City has made unsustainable decisions since the Great Recession to balance the budget without severe cuts to services, including suspending contributions to capital reserves, infrastructure maintenance, and long-term liabilities. 5. The City has implemented a number of deficit reduction measures over the past 10 years to close the budget gap, but significant shortfalls remain in the forecast. 6. City leadership and community members highly value Everett’s public services, and recognize the important contributions they make to the quality of life in Everett; and 7. The 2018 Berk benchmarking study pointed out that as a full-service city, Everett is unique among its peers, and recommended the City consider alternatives to its current service delivery model to improve its fiscal sustainability 8. New revenue is necessary to avoid significant cuts to core services, which would negatively impact the quality of life in Everett. 9. The City wishes to explore opportunities to preserve and grow public services. 10. Regionalizing services such as fire or library services could deliver economies of scale and reduce duplication in operational costs to get more from taxpayer resources. 11. City leadership believes that Everett residents should have a voice in the future of public services in Everett;