Mayor Proposes $312.3M Budget Focused on Costs, Oversight

Van Campen cites rising insurance, school and public safety expenses in 4.1% spending increase while pledging greater transparency and fiscal accountability

By Neil Zolot

Everett Mayor Robert Van Campen’s current budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027 is $312.3 million, an increase of 4.1% over the $299.7 million for Fiscal Year 2026. He said the increase is attributable to the rising cost of essential services, specifically contractual obligations, employee health insurance, school related costs and utilities and is not a broad expansion of spending. “Operating growth is comparatively modest,” he said.

The Mayor’s PowerPoint slide deck presented at a joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee at City Hall on Thursday, May 14 was headlined by the words responsibility, transparency and accountability. It also outlined a commitment to “take a hard look at finances” by reviewing spending, cost drivers, assumptions about revenue and finance practices. The mayor said past versions of the budget include revenue based on personal property taxes on furniture and other items at Encore Boston Harbor casino the City was unable to collect. “We were trying to assess personal property there without a verifiable way of doing it,” he said.

He added that he wants to restore trust in government by strengthening oversight, internal controls, accountability and transparency in how public dollars are spent to focus resources and functions that benefit Everett residents directly. “Managing tax dollars is one of the most important functions of government and my administration is going to treat that with the importance it deserves,” he said.

Plans to build for the future include strengthening partnerships with regional and state entities that can support the City’s finances and interests; advance economic development opportunities that are right-sized for the City and serve its fiscal priorities, infrastructure and neighborhoods and improve the City’s capacity to manage development, growth, infrastructure and mobility (i.e., traffic and pedestrian accessibility).

Approximately 87% of the operating budget is spent on fixed costs, the schools and public safety, leaving what he described as “relatively small share for every other municipal service, program and investment.”

The school budget of $145.4 million represents 47% of the budget. It is rising $3.2 million, or 2.3%, over Fiscal Year 2026. At School Committee meetings and in other forums, Van Campen has spoken about investing in education and making Everett a model for urban school systems.

Public Safety and City Services will cost $$46.9 million, an increase of $2.2 million, or 4.9%. Van Campen said the budget will “continue investment in police, fire and emergency communications; support rapid responses to resident and business needs; maintain critical inspectional and public safety services and strengthen the City’s core public safety infrastructure.

Fixed costs and health insurance will cost $41.2 million, a $5.8 million, or 16.3%, increase over Fiscal Year 2026. To help control costs, especially those for health insurance, he plans to speak with public employees to come up with a plan and a solution. Among the possible solutions are eliminating carrying over vacation days over multiple years by capping them and reducing the cost of employees taking cars home by eliminating most nonunion, non-public safety employees from taking cars home, which will cut fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.

Another $19.7 million is slated for Infrastructure and Neighborhoods, a $1 million, or 5.5%, increase over Fiscal Year 2026. In the new budget some utility costs will be transferred to facilities; practices and procedures will be implemented to account for building related expenses more responsibly to align costs and resources in a fiscally sound fashion.

Included in this is a restructuring of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives to focus on compliance and community engagement. For compliance there will be an Equity Officer focused on workplace training, policy development, inclusive recruitment, and compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In addition, the mayor’s office will take a role in multicultural affairs and community engagement to strengthen partnerships and connections with neighborhoods. All in all, Van Campen hopes to foster “a positive workplace and community culture and deliver inclusive, high quality public service.”

Funds generated outside the main operating budget include $24 million from water and sewer enterprise accounts, an increase of 3.4% over Fiscal Year 2026, and $564,737 from Everett Community Television (ECTV), a decrease of 3% from Fiscal Year 2026.

Van Campen concluded, “This budget reflects our shared values. Together we are a stronger, more transparent and more resilient Everett.”

A pie chart in the presentation designated 47% of the budget as school costs, 25% as fixed costs, for which a percentage is hard to calculate, and public safety, 15%. Subtracting the school budget leaves $166.9 million on the municipal side, with 41% designated as being related to personnel and 40% in personnel costs, mainly salaries.

Revenue is calculated at $364.7 million, an increase of $13.8 million, or 3.8%, over Fiscal Year 2026; $146 million of that is from property taxes, an increase of $12.1 million, or 9.1%, over Fiscal Year 2026.

Following the meeting, Van Campen reflected that putting together a budget as mayor is different than scrutinizing one as a city councillor. “It’s a very different perspective,” he said. “You have a global view about how every dollar is spent.”

A copy of the budget was scheduled to be posted on the city’s website (cityofeverett.com) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 18. Paper copies of the budget will be available at the Parlin Memorial Library and the City Clerk’s Office.

The tentative meeting schedule for the City Council’s Committee on Budget was Tuesday, May 19 at 6 with the School Department; Wednesday, May 20 at 6 with small City Departments; Wednesday, May 27 at 6 with the Executive and Finance Departments and Tuesday, June 2 at 6 with various large City Departments. City Council president and member at-Large Stephanie Smith called the increase in the budget “reasonable, considering 87% of the budget are school and fixed costs.”

SIDEBAR: SPEECH BY MAYOR VAN CAMPEN (Only if space allows)

“Dear Residents of Everett and Honorable Members of the City Council,

“I am proud to submit the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget for the City of Everett. This budget is grounded in responsibility, transparency, and a clear belief in Everett’s future. It reflects the work we must do today to stabilize our finances, strengthen the basic operations of city government, and make careful investments that will help build a stronger and more resilient community in the years ahead.

“When I took office, I made a commitment to take a hard look at the City’s finances, restore trust in government, and ensure that every dollar is spent in a way that benefits the residents, families, workers, and businesses of Everett. This budget reflects that commitment. It recognizes that we are operating in an unpredictable financial environment, where the cost of health insurance, utilities, labor agreements, infrastructure, and essential services continues to rise.

“It also recognizes that responsible government cannot simply react to those pressures year after year. We must begin to manage them with greater discipline, clearer accountability, and a longer view. The proposed FY27 budget makes that shift. It does not promise that every challenge can be solved in a single year – but it does begin the work of putting the City on a more stable path. We are strengthening financial oversight, improving accounting practices, creating and enforcing policies that protect taxpayers from unnecessary liabilities, and reviewing longstanding practices that are out of pace with the best interests of the City.

“These steps are not always visible, but they are essential to building a government that residents can trust.

“This budget also makes important investments in the services residents rely on every day. It supports public safety, public works, schools, water and sewer infrastructure, neighborhood services, and the basic operating systems that allow the City to function. It continues to support Everett’s students and families while recognizing the very real cost pressures facing the City as a whole. It also makes targeted investments in the functions that will help Everett manage growth and complexity more effectively, including stronger financial management, procurement, legal support, planning, transportation, facilities, and community engagement.

“Just as important, this budget begins to better align responsibility with resources. Utility costs are being placed with the department responsible for facilities. Budget capacity is being elevated under the City’s financial management structure. The prior DEI function is being restructured into a Mayor’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and Community Engagement, with a focus on increasing impact, strengthening existing partnerships, creating new ones, and improving the City’s connection to all of Everett’s communities.

“These are investments in capacity, but they are also investments in trust. A city budget should do more than fund departments – it should reflect its residents and the values of their government. It should reflect how decisions are being made, and whether we are preparing responsibly for the future. In FY27, our focus is on stabilizing the foundation, improving accountability, and making the City better able to deliver for residents not only this year, but in the years to come. There is more work ahead. We will need continued discipline, honest conversations, and partnership with the City Council, School Committee, employees, residents, and community stakeholders and this budget moves Everett in the right direction. It is a budget for the present, built with the future in mind.”