Munson

At the Everett City Council Budget Hearing on Small Departments on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Munson, the attorney and city solicitor candidate, defended his office’s proposed staffing and litigation budget. He said the proposed deputy city solicitor would serve as “somebody between me and the assistant city solicitor” to provide “a senior level knowledge and expertise.” He described that structure as “very standard” in municipal departments and said such a position would help handle emergencies and keep the office running.

Munson opposed reducing the litigation professional services line item from $100,000 to $50,000. He said, “I would say respectfully, I would disagree only because of that money, we still may need that for outside council services for legitimate cost.” He added that some of the money could also be needed for audit-related work. While he said he expects bringing more litigation work in-house to create savings, he cautioned that he could not quantify those savings yet: “it’s hard to quantify, and I don’t want to overpromise based on numbers that I don’t have right now.”

He said the legal office is already handling a “massive” workload and that the new position is needed so he and his team can get the work done. Munson explained that the office is taking on work that had previously gone to outside counsel and that bringing legal work back in house would “streamline the process” and make clear that his office is representing the city. He also said he met with Travelers Insurance and told them the city would be bringing back in-house whatever it reasonably could.

Munson told council that an audit is underway to identify outside counsel spending, contract dates, and billing rates. He said, “my goal is to be as transparent as possible,” while preserving privilege and confidentiality, and that he would share “legally permissible” information with council. He also said monthly reporting may be possible, but only once the audit provides complete information. No votes involving Munson were recorded in the extracted data.