By Mayor Robert Van Campen

Over the past several weeks, the City of Everett undertook one of the most important responsibilities in local government: building, reviewing, and approving an annual budget.

A city budget is more than a set of numbers. It is a statement of values and priorities. It shows residents how their government plans to fund schools, public safety, public works, infrastructure, neighborhood services, city buildings, financial obligations, and the day-to-day work people expect from City Hall.

This year’s process was especially important because it was the first budget proposed by this administration. From the beginning, our goal was straightforward: put forward a budget that is honest about the pressures facing Everett, disciplined about spending, and focused on the City’s long-term stability, and I believe we succeeded in meeting that goal. 

I want to thank the City Council for the seriousness with which it approached that responsibility. Councilors did not simply receive a document and move on. They examined the proposed budget carefully, asked difficult questions, challenged assumptions, and made their own judgment about what should move forward. That is exactly how local government is supposed to work.

The budget ultimately approved by the Council reflects both my administration’s proposal and the Council’s oversight. It maintains core city services, and supports Everett Public Schools, public safety, public works, neighborhood services, and critical infrastructure, while also strengthening the internal systems that allow government to function responsibly: finance, procurement, legal review, planning, transportation, facilities, and community engagement.

Those investments are not about growing government. They are about ensuring Everett has the professional capacity to manage an increasingly complex city. 

Everett is growing. Everett is changing. And Everett has significant opportunities ahead. But growth only benefits residents when it is managed responsibly. That requires stronger financial controls, better planning, disciplined budgeting, clearer accountability, and a government capable of managing contracts, infrastructure, development, and public resources with the diligence residents deserve.

That is the direction of this budget.

It is also the direction recognized when S&P Global Ratings assigned Everett an AA+ bond rating with a stable outlook. That is one of the strongest ratings a municipality can receive. It matters because bond ratings affect how cities borrow for long-term capital needs such as roads, buildings, public safety equipment, parks, schools, and infrastructure. A strong rating helps protect taxpayers by demonstrating that Everett remains a stable and creditworthy community.

But I do not view this rating as a trophy. I view it as a responsibility.

A stable rating does not mean every challenge has been solved. It does not mean we can ignore rising health insurance costs, utility expenses, collective bargaining obligations, debt service, aging infrastructure, or long-standing practices that need modernization. It means Everett has strong fundamentals and that we must continue doing the hard work required to protect them.

Residents have also heard about deeply concerning reports regarding longevity payments from the prior administration. I understand why that issue has caused frustration and anger. Public money requires public trust. When residents believe that trust has been damaged, government has an obligation to respond not with excuses, but with action.

That is why our administration has focused on strengthening oversight, improving accounting practices, reviewing internal controls, and ensuring decisions are based on numbers we can defend. We are not going to pretend every inherited issue will disappear overnight. We are going to confront those issues directly and build systems that will leave Everett stronger than we found it.

That is the connection between this budget and the bond rating.

The rating is not an endorsement of complacency. It is a reminder that stability is earned through discipline. It is earned by correcting assumptions rather than hiding them, addressing liabilities before they become larger problems, and investing in the staff, systems, and policies needed to run a city responsibly.

This budget takes important steps in that direction.

It recognizes that health insurance is one of the City’s largest financial pressures and that Everett must begin having serious conversations about long-term cost growth. It recognizes that revenue assumptions must be realistic, financial information must be reliable, and city resources must be tied to genuine public need.

It also recognizes that no administration can do this work alone.

The City Council has a critical role in reviewing and approving the budget. City employees have a critical role in delivering services every day. Residents have a critical role in holding us accountable. And this administration has a responsibility to be direct, transparent, and disciplined in the decisions ahead.

Everett is a city with enormous strengths: a hardworking community, a strategic location, strong neighborhoods, a growing economic base, and residents who care deeply about its future. Our job is to match those strengths with a government that is stable, modern, accountable, and prepared for the opportunities ahead.

The approved FY2027 budget is not the end of that work. It is the foundation for it.

I am grateful to the City Council for its review and approval, to our finance team and department heads for their hard work, and to the residents of Everett for expecting more from their city government.

We should expect more.

And together, we are building a stronger, more transparent, and more resilient Everett.

Robert Van Campen is the Mayor of Everett.