Council refers crowd‑sourced parking app and orders health‑check of Everett Housing Authority to committee

The Everett City Council voted to refer two initiatives for further study: a proposal to develop a crowd‑sourced parking application and a recommendation to perform a health‑check of the Everett Housing Authority.

Councilor Stephanie Smith proposed a crowd‑sourced app that would let residents upload photos or geo‑tagged reports of parking violations and transmit them directly to parking enforcement to speed response and improve public safety. Members discussed whether the city can build the capability in-house and agreed to refer the idea to the traffic commission, 311 and the mayor’s office for exploration.

On housing, councilors amended draft language from requesting an 'audit' to requesting a 'health check' of the Everett Housing Authority (Item 21). Councilor Martins said a 12‑point health‑check service could assess HUD compliance, voucher administration, residency requirements and housing conditions; the council voted to send the proposal to Government Operations and invited the head of housing and vendor representatives to explain the service and provide a written report.

Both referrals will return to council committees for further review and any recommended actions or funding requests.