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Police report uptick in expired-registration tickets and impounds; staff to assess revenue impact
Summary
Deputy Chief Hendrickson reported an increase in expired-registration enforcement, more impounds for vehicles without plates or tabs, and said outreach is used when vehicles are occupied; staff will follow up on whether nonpayment of tabs affects Everett's revenue stream.
Deputy Chief Hendrickson told the Community Health and Safety Council committee that enforcement of expired vehicle registrations (car tabs) has increased significantly in recent years, though officers do not treat tabs as the primary collision-prevention enforcement focus.
Hendrickson said officers wrote 86% more registration-related tickets in 2024 and another 13% more in 2025. He added that parking-enforcement staff issued 118% more tickets for missing plates or tabs in 2024 and 18% more in 2025. He also reported that 375 vehicles were impounded in 2025 for lacking license plates or tabs.
"It's not a primary function for us, but we are enforcing them," Hendrickson said, describing how expired tabs enforcement fits into broader traffic-law compliance work. He said expired tabs over 45 days can subject a vehicle to impound, and that parking and traffic teams use impound only when necessary for public-safety or neighborhood-impact reasons.
When Council member Erica Weir asked about vehicles occupied by people living in them, Hendrickson said staff will do extensive outreach before impounding, involving the CARES team to offer resources and avoid removing occupied vehicles when possible; he said most impounds are for abandoned vehicles.
Chair Scott Bader and others asked whether drivers with expired tabs are likelier to commit more serious traffic offenses; Hendrickson said he has seen some anecdotal examples but no clear causal correlation in the data.
Jennifer (staff) responded to a council question about revenue impacts from nonpayment of tabs, saying the city cannot force retroactive collection of vehicle registration fees the way property taxes are collected and that she would look into any direct fiscal effects to Everett; she noted some local transportation districts collect a small car-tab fee that can benefit local projects.
The committee did not adopt any policy changes at the meeting; staff committed to follow up with more detailed design documents and cost estimates for school beacons and to research whether reduced tab payments materially affect the city's revenue.
