EVERETT — Budget and tax dominoes are starting to fall in Snohomish County over the cost of running the county jail in Everett.
The Snohomish County Council has approved sharp increases in the jail booking fees but will phase-in those cost increases for cities over three years rather than imposing the full price to start 2027 as requested by Sheriff Susanna Johnson.
The County jail booking fee jumps from $151.61 to $353.61 in 2027. In July, mayors from Snohomish County’s biggest cities objected to the price spike, citing the un-expected cost burden. Sheriff Johnson proposed the increases to cover higher labor costs at the jail.
The jail booking fee is what Snohomish County charges a city when it arrests someone for a non-felony and brings that suspect to the County jail in Everett for detainment and arraignment. For felony arrests, Snohomish County handles all of those jail booking costs because it has jurisdiction for felony cases through the Snohomish County Superior Court system. Cities handle non-felonies like gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor criminal charges which usually involve DUI, 4th degree assault-domestic violence, protection order violations and reckless driving.
Tuesday, the Snohomish County Council approved the Sheriff’s increase on jail bookings, but it will be phased in over three years, rather than imposing the full price all at once. The phase-in will start in 2027 with cities paying 60% of the full rate, 80% of the full rate in 2028 and then 100% of the rate in 2029. The three-year ramp-up was approved as part of the County’s 2027-28 biennial budget.
One of the ways cities like Everett will pay for the pricier jail booking fees will be through sales tax increases dedicated to public safety costs. Currently the Everett City Council is considering a 0.1% sales tax hike proposed by Mayor Cassie Franklin as part of the city’s next budget. The 0.1% sales tax hike proposed in Everett could be approved at the City Council’s December 2 meeting as part of the city’s 2027 budget. The other option would be to dip into the city’s general fund to pay for costlier jail booking fees.
If that sales tax hike is approved, it would go into effect in April 2027, bringing Everett’s sales tax collection to 10.6%, with the state collecting 6.5% of that total. Everett’s City Council is expected to approve the public safety sales tax on December 2 when it votes on its 2027 annual budget. The city predicts if would collect $3.6 million in extra sales tax for the remainder of 2027 with the 2028 tally reaching approximately $5 million to pay for the city’s public safety and court costs.
Everett Finance Director, Chris Godwin reported to the Council, “We are assuming that the cost of jail fees is going to grow by $1.5 million alone. These are passed on to us by the County and we have very little control of what those actual rates are.”
Along with the higher cost of County jail booking fees Everett is facing, the city will also be required to pay more for public defenders–attorneys who represent defendants who can’t afford their own attorney–otherwise known as indigent defense.
In June 2025, the Washington Supreme Court ordered lower caseload limits for public defenders over the next decade. The new order will eventually cut caseload standards by roughly two-thirds for each public defender by 2036. The Association of Washington Cities, which lobbies the Washington Legislature on such issues says, “Cities need to hire more public defenders to cover the existing caseload but are struggling. Statewide, there aren’t enough public defenders available for hire, and many cities already cannot afford it. Without options to pay for more public defenders, cities will have no choice but to drop or dismiss cases.”
At the County level, when it comes to felony cases, that can mean that a case is not filed because the County can’t afford the public defender to represent the defendant. In that circumstance, a city can pursue a gross misdemeanor charge and bring the defendant into the city’s jurisdiction to face trial–if it can afford a public defender for the lesser charge.
Everett Councilman, Ben Zarlingo, addressed that distinction during the city’s latest discussion about the 0.1% sales tax proposal saying, “As I understand from talking to the County Prosecutor, (Jason Cummings), their budget limits will cause some crimes to be not charged as felonies leaving it to us to handle them as misdemeanors, so there’s an additional load coming our way as well. Not only a load, but some really hard choices about what we do in accountability.”
Washington is one of only five states in the U.S. where public defense is funded significantly by local budgets. In Washington, cities are responsible for 65% of misdemeanor cases; and 54% of criminal cases overall (including public defense costs). The AWC estimates cities’ annual costs to cover public defense could more than triple over the next decade from $54 million to $162 million.
Proposals to force the state to cover 50% of local public defense costs, including HB 1592, sponsored by State Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds), who is also a County Council member, have stalled amid state budget deficits.
The impact on Everett was encompassed in this exchange at Tuesday’s Everett City Council meeting between Councilmember, Bret Bader, and City Attorney, Ramsey Ramerman.
Bader: “The impact if we don’t fund these things more fully, indigent defense, prosecutors…if we didn’t do that…the impact would be?”
Ramerman: “The impact would be that we’d have to change how we charge what type of public safety crimes that we prosecute. Would have to be reduced (because we) wouldn’t have the public defenders to defend them.”
Bader: “So potentially letting criminals, in a broad sense, go without getting prosecuted in some cases?”
Rammerman: “Yeah.”
For Everett’s 0.1% public safety sales tax proposal, the dedicated tax money could be used to pay for domestic violence services, public defenders, diversion programs, reentry work for inmates, juvenile offenders, alternative response programs, and mental health crisis response including, but not limited to, the recovery navigator program.
In its current proposed ordinance, Everett officials advise, actual use of the proceeds will vary by year within these investments depending on the amount of revenues coming in, and the approved budget that will appropriate the funds, ultimately concluding: this revenue increase is not attributable to a specific project at this time but will be attached to support criminal justice costs starting in FY2027 and subject to the annual budget process and any budget amendments.
Other Snohomish County cities, as well as Snohomish County itself, have previously approved their own 0.1% public safety sales tax hikes, which were authorized on a local basis by the Washington Legislature to address crime, law enforcement staffing and court costs.
The Lynnwood City Council approved a 0.1% public safety sales tax by a 5–1 vote in January. Collection began on April 1, bringing Lynnwood’s total sales tax rate to 10.7% (which will rise to 10.8% once the countywide tax starts in January 2027).
The Edmonds City Council also approved its own 0.1% public safety sales tax in January for a 10-year period. Like Lynnwood, Edmonds began collecting the increase on April 1, raising its combined rate to 10.7%
The Monroe City Council adopted its own criminal justice sales tax September 29, citing substantial increases in non-discretionary law and justice costs including indigent defense, prosecution, jail, and court services. Many of these increases are attributed to new standards and contracted rates outside the city’s control – such as higher jail rates and revised public defense caseload standards. These rising costs are outpacing revenue growth, placing increased pressure on the city’s budget and service levels.
For Monroe, the tax is projected to cost the average Monroe household $1.83 per month and generate approximately $750,000 annually to support police and court services. In 2027, the combined sales tax rate in the City of Monroe is expected to be 9.7%. Of that amount, a rate of 1.5% is imposed by the City of Monroe. The other 8.2% is imposed by the State, County, and Transit District.
In August, voters in the City of Stanwood approved a 0.1% public safety sales tax rather than a councilmanic decision to put it to a vote of the people. When it passed, City Administrator, issued a written message to voters, “On behalf of the City of Stanwood, I want to express my sincere gratitude to our community for voting yes on Proposition #1. We recognize that every dollar matters, especially at a time when the cost of living remains high, and we do not take your support for granted. We will continue working hard to be thoughtful and responsible stewards of public dollars while prioritizing the essential services and programs that matter most to residents, including public safety.”
Cities that use the Snohomish County jail will also have to pay other increased costs for booking suspects including:
• Daily Housing Costs: Rise from $210.99 per day to $266.71 per day.
• Video Court Fees: Increase from $251.12 to $328.24.
• Overtime Supplement: Introduces a new $32.78 per day overtime supplement.
Those additional costs will be passed along to jurisdictions like Everett in non-felony cases.