City Budget 101

The City of Everett creates an annual budget to plan how it will pay for the services it will provide the community, such as public safety, infrastructure, parks and more. Creating the annual budget is nearly a year-long process that involves the mayor, city staff, city council and the community. Working together helps create a city budget that is balanced, responsible and supports core and essential city services for Everett’s residents and businesses.

City budget roles


The budget process

  1. The mayor and city council set goals and priorities based on community feedback and the City’s revenue and expenditure forecast for future years.
  2. The finance team and departments develop revenue estimates for service fees, confirm the number of staff positions, and other expense-related information. This is also the time that departments have the opportunity to submit requests to add or revise programs and staff. 
  3. The finance team reviews and analyzes department responses, completes the revenue forecast and labor budget, and presents it to Administration for approval to include in the mayor’s proposed budget. 
  4. Briefings are provided to the city council to provide an opportunity for council and public input.
  5. Throughout this process, the mayor and city council listen to resident feedback and updated projections provided by the finance team, who adjust the draft budget as directed.  
  6. Once the proposed budget is balanced, the mayor presents it to the city council for review and consideration.  
  7. The city council reviews the proposed budget and conducts three public hearings. During these hearings the mayor and council continue to listen to input from the community, and provide feedback to staff. 
  8. The mayor and finance team process feedback from the city council and make any necessary adjustments to the proposed budget. 
  9. The council adopts the finalized budget through three readings of a city ordinance at city council.
  10. The budget is then closely monitored throughout the year to make sure revenue and spending projections stay on track. Monthly financial reports are provided to Administration and City Council to keep them informed of the City’s budget performance, and amendments are adopted to revise the budget as necessary


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