Everett residents would pay double the transit sales tax and gain 50% more bus service under a proposed merger headed to the Everett City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

The council is set to vote at 6:30 p.m. on an interlocal agreement (ILA) that would dissolve Everett Transit and fold it into Community Transit, which serves the rest of Snohomish County. Community Transit's board of directors is expected to vote at 3 p.m. Nov. 5.

If both bodies approve, the annexation would take effect April 1, 2027, according to the city's transit consolidation page.

The deal would replace Everett's 0.6% transit sales tax with Community Transit's 1.2% rate, an increase of 6 cents on a $10 purchase.

A unified system would boost bus service in Everett by 50% by 2031, with an interim operations period from April 2027 through 2028 and phased improvements beginning in March 2028, the city page states.

The consolidated system would also add connections to light rail in Lynnwood and prepare for the extension of light rail to Everett, along with a new Zip microtransit zone in Everett by spring 2028, according to the city.

Residents divided at hearings

Dozens of residents testified at public hearings on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, The Daily Herald reported. Opinions were split.

Supporters said the merger would fill transit gaps and cut cross-boundary transfers, the Herald reported. Brock Howell of the Snohomish County Transportation Coalition and Sound Transit's Erik Ashlie-Vinke both spoke in favor. Sylvia Mendoza, a south Everett resident, said her daughter's commute to the Arlington area takes about two and a half hours each way because of multiple transfers, the Herald reported.

Opponents argued the tax hike is unnecessary on top of recent utility tax increases and a voter-approved emergency medical services levy, the Herald reported.

"Necessary taxes are one thing, but this is unnecessary," Everett Transit driver Daryle Sullivan told the council, according to the Herald. "Transit service in Everett is great as it is."

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 883 (ATU 883) raised concerns about whether drivers would retain seniority after transferring to Community Transit, the Herald reported.

Kandy Bartlett, Everett's director of labor and administrative services, said employees would keep existing seniority until the two unions negotiate new terms, the Herald reported.

Paratransit and the public-vote question

The merger would change paratransit eligibility for older riders, the Herald reported. Everett Transit allows residents 65 and older to use paratransit without qualifying under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the merger, current riders over 65 would keep access, but residents who turn 65 afterward would not automatically qualify.

"Are we telling future seniors, 'So sad, too bad, pay more for less?'" resident Shanine Chapman said, according to the Herald.

Several residents asked the council to put the merger to a public vote, the Herald reported. A 2025 state law removed the requirement for a public vote on transit consolidation.

City attorney Ramsey Ramerman argued that the system of government delegates complex decisions to elected representatives, saying the merger is not the type of decision that works well as a public vote, the Herald reported.

Service during the first year after annexation would remain largely unchanged, according to the city's consolidation page, before phased improvements begin in March 2028.