EDMONDS — Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen discussed highlights from his first year in office, the city’s budget crisis and the upcoming fire annexation vote at his 2025 State of the City address Thursday morning.
About 75 people gathered at The Edmonds Theater to hear Rosen speak about his first year in office and his plans for city in 2025.
City Council President Neil Tibbott introduced the mayor, highlighting his work in addressing the city’s $13 million budget deficit. Shortly after he took office on Jan. 1, 2024, Rosen established a Blue Ribbon Panel to brainstorm ways to bridge the deficit.
“They not only worked through and identified the issues that brought us to the place that we’re at, but they also developed a plan,” Tibbott said. “He took that plan and he began implementing it, and he’s still working on that today. That’s how much he cares about our city.”
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Rosen proposed an additional $1.8 million in cuts, exceeding the council’s ask of $1.5 million. Cuts included eliminating a public records assistant, eliminating a city planner and a more than $7,000 donation from Rosen’s salary.
Rosen emphasized that Edmonds is not alone in its budget crisis, with other cities such as Everett and Tacoma facing similar shortfalls.
Over the past four years, the city’s revenues grew 28% while expenditures grew 45%. One software contract, Rosen said, went from about $2,000 for three years to $31,000 for one year. Other large increases included insurance, utilities and fuel. The city’s forecasted revenues missed target estimates by more than $1 million in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
One solution for narrowing the deficit is the city’s potential annexation into the regional fire authority, he said. On April 22, residents will vote on whether the city should annex into South County Fire. Currently, residents pay $6.5 million to the city for fire services. If annexed, taxpayers would pay the fire authority directly, but the City Council has stated it intends to keep charging residents the $6.5 million and place that money in its general fund.
A pending Public Disclosure Commission complaint alleges the city misused public funds to advocate for the measure. Mayor Rosen denied the allegations in a response last week. Annexation is the least expensive option to maintain the level and quality of fire and emergency medical services, Rosen said.
“That’s why it is on your ballot,” he said. “But I want to emphasize, this is up to you. This is up to each of you. It is a personal decision.”
The city recently launched a calculator residents can use to see how much their property taxes would increase under annexation.
Coming into 2025, Rosen said, the city targeted $7 million in cuts that department staff identified, the additional $1.8 million Rosen identified Tuesday, a $230,000 reduction in the police command staff budget and a $6 million internal loan.
The city needs to pay back the internal loan, $8 million in reserves and $8.9 million for fire services, if annexation fails. The $6.5 million from annexation and a potential $6 million levy lid lift on the ballot in November are key pieces in bridging the city’s deficit, Rosen said.
The city has started looking at other ways to increase revenue and cut costs, such as implementing new taxes, raising rent, selling vehicles and parks, introducing new types of businesses into the community and cheaper jail services.
“This is so the wrong way for a city to be … to continue to cut, as opposed to saying, ‘What is the city I want? What does that look like?” Rosen said. “We need to be working on these priorities and getting to a place where we can keep this place the place we love.”
Rosen also reviewed 2024 data from various city departments.
From the police department, domestic violence incidents were down slightly from 2023. The three most frequent crimes were larceny/theft, destruction/vandalism and assault. The department handled 163 drug and narcotic violations, with fentanyl and meth being among the most common.
Fire and emergency medical services incidents have trended upward since 2020, with a slight increase between 2023 and 2024. Emergency medical services made up 84% of calls in 2024, and about 76% of response times were under eight minutes.
In 2024, the public works department upgraded 7,800 linear feet of main sewer lines. The public works department also installed 6 lane miles of new bike lanes, 5.2 lane miles of roadway overlay and 17 new ramps compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. City vehicles traveled nearly 900,000 miles and city vehicle accidents decreased by 40%.
The city resolved 85% of its code enforcement cases in 2024 and approved 39 new housing permits. On Dec. 17, the city adopted its comprehensive plan, which creates guidelines for development through 2044.
“We were required to get that done by the end of the year,” Rosen said. “It was a bit of a heavy lift, as it has been. Not all cities actually made the deadline, and we did.”
Environmental highlights included reducing electrical use at Edmonds Library by about 45%, replacing 1,600 streetlights with LED fixtures, and reducing electrical use and fuel oil consumption at the wastewater treatment plant.
On Nov. 25, 2024, the City Council unanimously approved the final design for a new Boys & Girls Club facility in Civic Park. The Boys & Girls Club is raising the needed $6 million for the project.
Rosen hopes to designate Edmonds as a “Community of Service” next year as part of a national program for the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Edmonds Civic Roundtable will host an open discussion with the mayor at 6:30 p.m. April 7 at the Edmonds Waterfront Center.
“This place does matter, we love this place,” Rosen said. “Coming together really is important, but it’s working together that’s going to matter.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
