Statement For · Alice Hedges, Mason Rutledge, and Todd Welch
statement appears AICommittee: Alice Hedges, Mason Rutledge, and Todd Welch
Everett’s City Charter was written for a print-only era. Proposition 265 updates it for how residents actually get information today. Modernizing these publication rules strengthens transparency and makes city notices easier for everyone to access. Prop 265 allows the City to post official public notices on its website, so council actions, public hearings, financial disclosures, and board appointments are available instantly, 24/7, to anyone with a phone or computer. Residents no longer have to wait for a print cycle or search through classified pages to understand what their government is doing. This change does not shrink transparency – it expands it. Online posting makes notices easier to find, so more people can participate in decisions that affect them. It also reduces unnecessary print costs and directs those dollars toward better public use. Proposition 265 updates nine sections of the City Charter that still require print-era noticing, and each change does the same practical thing: bring Everett’s notices online, where people already look. A vote for Proposition 265 is a vote for a transparent, accessible, and efficient city government that communicates the way Everett lives today.