For a Stronger City

While the current system is familiar and has some strengths, many residents feel that changes are necessary to be able to solve the City's  complex problems. They believe experienced municipal management is better than well meaning politicians. Factors driving the conversation about a city manager system versus a mayor system include:

 

• Unreasonable Taxing Plans: In 2025 the mayor proposed a 40% increase in the price of basic services (the general fund) in one year - with an escalating factor that bumps up the price every year. Frankly - that was nuts. City Council changed the mix of taxes (property and sales tax) but a majority of council members agreed with the size of the jump.  The property tax levy lid lift that was a 134% increase. The voters rejected that in the '25 general election. But the over reliance on property taxes to pay for basic services will not stop without new economic development and excellent fiscal management. Can't this City get back to the fiscal stability we used to have?
   

• Recent mayors have cleaned house after their election, creating turnover in Director positions that drain the City of institutional knowledge. The problem is most acute at the Finance Director position where it was left vacant for a year, and no fiscal recovery plan was developed. The City had 4 Finance directors in the last 3 administrations. Things were more chaotic in the 2003 - 2014 period when there were 6 permanent Finance Directors and 2 interim Directors. The resignation of the Public Works director in mid-2024 created a vacancy in a department with a failing project costing over $20 million - the waste water treatment plant gasification system. The role was not filled on a permanent basis until November 2025. Political house cleaning by an elected mayor is the most cited rationale to change to a professional city manager. 

 

• Inadequate Economic Development: Edmonds is a bedroom community, meaning it is primarily residential and is within commuting distance to the job centers of Seattle, Everett and Bellevue. The city grew by annexing unincorporated neighborhoods. But it's growth did not increase the economic diversity, it made the city more residential. There are 2 main commercial districts: the historical downtown with small businesses and the Hwy 99 corridor with major brand car dealerships and large grocers. Developing new sources of revenues beyond sales tax and property tax is difficult and requires both expertise and long term commitment. Past Edmonds Mayors have demonstrated neither. And the current mayor eliminated the Economic Development Director position.
   

• Community Involvement: Public meetings are held occasionally in Edmonds to encourage citizen dialogue. They are ad hoc, and focus on a specific topic. There is no structured effective process of civic engagement at this time. The Mayor paused the operation of all citizen volunteer boards in Dec 2024 unless they were mandated by State law. In contrast, when Mountlake Terrace and Shoreline had fiscal challenges their City Managers empaneled a citizen board to analyze the root causes of the problem and provide direction to the elected officials. 

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Highlight: Edmonds has a fiscal emergency in that they spend more on basic services than the revenues they take in.  The fix was to ask voters to approve a 134% property tax increase (the same year they approved paying a new tax to the Regional Fire Authority.) The Finance Director position has been a revolving door since 2003. We believe Edmonds needs a professional city manager with deep fiscal management expertise and a Finance Director who serves with a long tenure, and actually solves problems. 

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The Current Structure

 

Edmonds operates under a mayor-council system, where the mayor serves as the chief executive officer and the city council acts as the legislative body. All positions are elected by the voters. 
 

• Mayor's Role: The mayor is responsible for overseeing city operations, implementing policies, and representing the city in various capacities. The City added a City Administrator position in 2025 as an additional management layer, but it didn't change the power of the Mayor. The Mayor is still the CEO. Although many smaller cities reduce the Mayor to a part time role when they add a city administrator position, Edmonds chose not to do this. The salary of the Mayor plus the City Administrator is about $370,000 plus generous health insurance benefits and a retirement plan.  

   

• City Council's Role: The city council consists of  7 representatives elected to 4 year terms who set policies, create laws, approve budgets, and address community concerns. They are part time positions with no staff to do policy development. 

   

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What happens when the voter initiative is approved? 

 

 

1. Transition to a Council-Manager System

 

Voters are the only group that can make the change from a council - mayor system to a council-manager system.  In this form of government, the city council hires a professional city manager under a contract to run daily operations. The council continues to focus on legislative duties, setting priorities, and approving large contracts and the budget for each city department. The Council elects one of their own each year to act as the ceremonial mayor and be chairperson of the council. 

 

Benefits of a Council-Manager System:

• Professional Management: A city manager brings expertise in public administration, which can lead to more efficient operations. They often have an MBA degree and specialized finance knowledge.

• Clear Separation of Powers: This model reduces the concentration of power in the mayor's office, resulting in a less political approach to running the city.

• Stability:  It stops the political housecleaning after an election. Directors usually have longer tenure and can make decisions based on institutional knowledge. 

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The council - manager form is endorsed by the National Civic League, and some chapters of the League of Women Voters. See the blog article on this website titled The Advice of Experts. 

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Highlight: In the State of Washington, the vast majority of new cities incorporated since 1970 use the council - manager from of government. (ref. Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington)

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2. Expanding the City Council - temporarily

 

Once the City Manager form is approved by the voters, the old mayor serves out the remaining months of their term as a member of the City Council. Edmonds would have an 8 member Council through Dec. 2027.

 

 

3. Hiring a professional City Manager

 

The City Council can hire a recruiting firm that specializes in City Manager hiring  (most common in cities the size of Edmonds).

 

Recruiting firms who have assisted many cities in the region are GMP Consultants (Greg Prothman) or Prothman (Sonya Prothman). When the long time City manager of Shoreline retired in 2022, they were able to hire their replacement in 4 months by using a recruiting firm. 

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The powers and duties of a City Manager are specified in State Law. You can read them here: RCW 35A.13.080  

 

4. Can Edmonds afford a professional city manager?

 

Yes - we'll probably even save money.  Edmonds spends about $370,000 salary plus benefits on it's 2 employees of Mayor + City Administrator. 

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Examples: Mountlake Terrace has about the same number of employees as Edmonds and paid their city manager about $200,000 in 2022 plus benefits, and has a part time mayor. Shoreline is a larger city and hired their City manager at a $237,000 salary level in 2022, and has a part time mayor. 

We only need one CEO in Edmonds - not 2 highly paid executives.

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5. What about electing the ceremonial Mayor? 

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This is a governance topic to consider working on in 2027 or 2028.

State law has a provision so that the voters can continue to elect the individual they want to represent them as mayor. (Ref RCW 35A.06.040)  City Council position 1 is designated Mayor.  That individual acts as council president and performs the ceremonial duties of mayor of Edmonds.  ( Example: the City of Olympia has a popularly elected mayor as council position one.)  By electing the person who sets the Council agenda for the year, the voters are increasing their control of local government.

 

​This change can only be approved by a popular vote. The current term for Council position one expires in December of 2029. No changes will happen until after the current term expires.