Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Interim Finance Director Mike Bailey recommends 12% utility tax to help close Everett's $15M budget gap
Summary
Interim Finance Director Mike Bailey told the Everett City Council the administration will recommend replacing the city's 6% payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) on utilities with a 12% municipal utility tax, estimating roughly $7.5 million in annual revenue and an average residential increase of about $10.74.
Interim Finance Director Mike Bailey told the Everett City Council on March 18 that the city is facing a structural shortfall and that staff will recommend replacing the long-standing payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) on city utilities with a municipal utility tax.
Bailey said the council's retreat identified the issue and that "next year's deficit [is] forecasted currently at somewhat over 15 million dollars." He said administration will propose increasing the current 6% charge to 12% and that "if the council approved such an increase that would generate about $7.5 million to the city's general fund." Bailey said those funds would be permissible for any general governmental purpose at the council's discretion.
Bailey said the PILOT approach used historically by Everett (in place since 1983) is less defensible under…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
