Michele Capone

At the Everett City Council Budget Hearing for Administration and Finance on May 27, 2026, Michele Capone focused on constituent concerns about the budget and on several line items affecting city staffing and services. She opened by saying, “Just a couple of tough questions, these are the calls I keep getting,” and explained that the two main questions from residents were, “are the taxes going up?” and “how many jobs have been cut?” She added, “I know when constituents call, it just seems in this economy, everyone is finding ways to save money,” and said, “I just feel like as a council, as a community, we also have to figure out a way to tighten the belt.”

Capone asked whether the city’s health insurance approach would be handled through collective bargaining with unions or by researching other insurance companies that serve municipalities. She also asked for the average number of calls received per day.

In discussion of staffing, Capone asked how long the acting director had been in the role and whether the city truly needed an assistant director at a proposed salary of $105,000. She questioned the compensation directly: “Because it would only be $15,000 less than what you would be making as the director. Does the salary have to be that high?”

Capone also raised questions about programs and operations. She noted that it had been “a long time” since she had a family in city programs, but remembered paying $100 to $200 per week for child programming. She then asked about the wellness center, saying, “So, we know the wellness center has been outsourced,” and followed up on whether the wellness center manager was still the city’s representative, whether that was the same as the outsourced operator, and whether the city was paying a private operator.

Later, she asked about the youth council stipend, identifying it as for “the 12 students from Everett High School who volunteer,” and asked when it was created and how students are selected.

Capone also seconded two motions during the meeting: she seconded the motion to excuse the guest, and she seconded the motion to accept the department’s budget. No votes were recorded for her individually in the extracted record.

Councilor Capone’s recorded activity in the Everett City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, was limited but clear. During the roll call vote on a motion to enter executive session and adjourn from there, Capone voted “yes,” supporting the motion. The motion carried by roll call, and Capone’s vote was part of the council’s decision to move into executive session rather than continue in open session.

The only direct statement attributed to Capone in the extracted record was a brief affirmation: “Yes.” In the context of the meeting record provided, this appears to be Capone’s response during the roll call vote. No additional remarks, questions, objections, or explanations from Capone are included in the extracted activity.

Capone’s participation in the meeting, as reflected in the available data, therefore centered on procedural action rather than extended discussion. The record does not show Capone making a substantive policy statement, raising a question, or taking a separate position on any issue beyond the vote to enter executive session. There is also no indication in the provided material of any notable exchange involving Capone, nor of any amendment, debate, or follow-up comment associated with the motion.

In summary, Capone’s documented role in this meeting was to cast a supportive vote on the executive-session motion. The official record captured a simple “Yes” from Capone and notes that they voted yes on the roll call vote. No further activity by Councilor Capone is reflected in the extracted meeting data provided.

At the Everett City Council Budget Hearing on Small Departments, Michele Capone spent much of her time asking detailed budget and program questions across several departments.

She began with the Council on Aging, opening with, “A couple of questions.” Capone asked whether proposed higher senior activity expenses would include “staying open late a few nights,” which nights those would be, and whether refreshments and custodial coverage would be provided. She also asked about the senior store, including whether it had regular walk-in hours, how much money it brought in weekly, and where that money went. She followed up by saying, “I hear so many great things about the exercise program on Thursday,” and asked whether the program would be expanded. She also offered praise, saying she knew “how hard the members of the council on aging work.”

In the Law Department discussion, Capone asked Attorney Munson a two-part question: “how much is the city of Everett currently spending on outside counsel” and how much the city expected to save by litigating more cases internally. She pressed for a savings estimate to justify hiring a deputy city solicitor, referenced the former scope of the city solicitor’s office, and noted, “We talk a lot about KP Law.” Capone then asked whether the legal department could provide the council monthly updates on outside counsel spending and any savings from handling cases in-house.

During the accounting and fixed-cost discussions, Capone asked about carry-forward appropriations and said she understood there was roughly half a million dollars remaining. She noted leftover money from the prior year could not be spent and said the city should not recommend additional appropriations right now. In another exchange, she raised concerns about fixed costs and salary increases, saying residents watch the meetings because “the taxes are so high and the taxes are a problem.” She asked what counted as fixed costs and whether salaries were controlled by contracts.

Capone also questioned compensation tied to the City Clerk’s outside Justice of the Peace role and election commission stipends, asking how much additional income the clerk receives, how many JP licenses exist in Everett, whether election commission members receive stipends, the average stipend amount, and whether the chairperson also receives one.

Votes: she voted no on a motion to reduce salary lines by $10,000; yes on a motion to reduce the reimbursable expenses line item by $11,000 to $33,000; and yes on whether to accept the budget.

At the Everett City Council Budget Hearing on Schools on May 19, 2026, Council Member Michele Capone took part in an informational discussion with Superintendent Hart and Mr. Barrett. She opened by thanking them for their presentation and noted, “this is more of an informational session, and we appreciate your time.”

Capone focused her comments on school staffing, labor costs, and maintenance expenses. She referenced collective bargaining and said she understood that “the salary increase is really nothing you can do about it,” then asked how many teachers the Everett Public School System employs, what the final dollar amount of the teachers’ salary increase was, and what the average salary increase for a teacher amounted to. She also observed that teachers appeared to have a stronger collective bargaining contract than paraprofessionals, while adding that, based on her own experience as a kindergarten teacher, “I commend teachers because it’s not an easy job.”

She raised additional staffing questions, asking whether certain positions are typically laid off at the end of the school year. She also asked a general procurement question about how many bids typically go out when the school department seeks a contract.

On facilities and operations, Capone asked whether the maintenance contracts were union work, specifically citing Local 103 electrical work and Union 537 for sprinklers, pipe fitters, and HVAC. She also questioned why the snow removal budget was larger for the coming year, asking whether the increase reflected expectations of more snowstorms or prior problems with snow removal. She asked whether snow removal is handled internally or contracted out.

Capone’s final line of questioning addressed staffing growth in the budget. She asked about four new jobs she identified as a payroll generalist, HR generalist, director of inclusion, and director of world language, noting that the positions would create “over $400,000 in salaries” and saying she wanted to learn more about them.

No votes were taken by Capone during this hearing.

At the Everett City Council meeting on Monday, April 27, 2026, Councilor Michele Capone was present and participated in roll call votes, but the extracted record does not show any spoken remarks or questions from her during the meeting.

Capone voted yes on the motion for favorable action on the petition pending conditions. This vote indicated support for advancing the petition with the stated conditions attached.

She also voted yes on the motion to take items 12 through 17 collectively and out of order. That procedural vote allowed the council to group those agenda items together and consider them in a different sequence than originally listed.

In the meeting record provided, Capone is identified as appearing in the roll call vote as a councilor, confirming her participation in the council’s formal actions that evening. No direct quotations, objections, amendments, or separate positions were attributed to her in the extracted material.

Overall, Capone’s role in this meeting was captured through her affirmative votes on both a substantive petition item and a procedural motion to reorganize the agenda for consideration. The available record does not indicate that she raised questions, made statements, or took a distinct public stance beyond those recorded votes.

At the Everett City Council meeting on Monday, April 13, 2026, Councilor Michele Capone was present for roll call and participated in the council’s consideration of business before it.

During the meeting, Capone was referenced as having raised concerns at the prior meeting about potential lawsuits and contractual relations involving the wage theft ordinance. That prior concern was noted in the course of the council’s discussion, indicating that Capone had previously flagged possible legal and contractual implications tied to the measure.

In the meeting record provided, Capone’s direct spoken contribution was limited to a brief response: “Yes.” The extracted record does not provide additional remarks, questions, or extended debate from Capone during this session.

Capone also took part in a recorded vote on items 26 and 27. On the roll call for those items, Capone voted yes. The motion is identified in the record as “items 26 and 27,” and the outcome for Capone’s vote was affirmative.

Overall, Capone’s participation in the meeting, as reflected in the available record, consisted of attendance, a brief spoken response, acknowledgment of prior concerns regarding the wage theft ordinance’s potential legal and contractual consequences, and a yes vote on items 26 and 27. The material provided does not indicate any additional motions, amendments, or separate votes by Capone beyond that roll-call action.

At the Everett Government Operations meeting on Monday, April 27, 2026, City Councilor Michele Capone participated actively in discussion of the Broadway paving/work plan and related construction impacts.

Capone began by seconding a motion to invite the petitioner up, then later seconded the motion to excuse the guest. During the presentation, Capone asked a series of practical questions focused on how the project would affect residents and businesses along Broadway. Capone asked, “Is anything being done to help the small businesses that are on the Northern Side going up Broadway? Because there’s a lot of small businesses that depend on those few parking spaces.” Capone also asked whether the work zone would be covered or narrowed so traffic would be limited to one side of the street, and asked, “What would a typical day look like for this project?” Capone followed up by asking whether the process would include pulling up the existing asphalt, and whether the bus lane would be routed around the worksite because “there’s a major bus line.”

Capone also raised access concerns for residents and asked, “Just one final question. Are you gonna have, like, a hotline or a helpline if residents have questions like councilor Garcia brought up if someone can’t get into their driveway because something is blocking it?” Capone added that such a resource would be helpful for questions that arise as the project moves down Broadway.

In response to engineering-related discussion, Capone relayed that they had spoken with Julius Engineering and said the plan was to work “from the center line to the curb,” adding that engineering was okay with that approach for the paving. Capone then stated support for the proposal, saying, “So I just wanna let you guys know that. So I would recommend favorable action as long as we a master plan, I recommend favorable action to the next board.”

Capone voted yes on both recorded motions: to excuse the guest, and to recommend favorable action on the paving/work plan to the next board.