As both a firefighter for South County and a proud resident of Edmonds, I have a unique perspective on the upcoming annexation vote. My wife and I chose to raise our family here, and we’ve never regretted it. We love our community — whether it’s enjoying the parks, the beach, or dining at one of our great local restaurants, Edmonds is truly special.
At a recent forum hosted by the Northwest Washington Civic Circle, the opposition committee’s message was to vote “no” and force the city and the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) to negotiate a better deal. The city can only reduce the cost of fire and EMS services by cutting the level of service Edmonds’ residents have now or cutting elsewhere. That approach would be devastating for our community. The city has already agreed to a contract with the RFA to provide service in 2026 if annexation fails. That contract would consume 17% of the city’s general fund budget, forcing drastic cuts to essential programs across Edmonds. When I asked the “Con” committee what they would cut to cover the costs, they had no answer — only the claim that we should renegotiate.
Starting our own city fire department isn’t a viable option. It would require hiring at least 50 firefighters plus administrative staff, purchasing new equipment, and paying for a contract and the cost of building the fire department at the same time. It would cost more for a lower level of service. Merging with another fire department isn’t feasible either, as no surrounding cities or districts are willing to take on Edmonds.
No matter the outcome of this vote, we will continue to serve and protect our community. However, without the funding annexation provides, I fear for what Edmonds could lose. Please join me and my family in voting yes on annexation — to preserve the safety, services and quality of life that make Edmonds the Gem of the Puget Sound.
AJ Johnson lives in Edmonds.
I am not against joining I am against the city keeping what we pay now if that means the city needs to make cuts I am good with that. But as it stands I am a no vote.
Mr Johnson,
Thank you for your informative letter and informed perspective. I appreciate your willingness to share it. I will definitely consider this strongly as the vote approaches. Firefighters are a gift to any community. The one they work in and the one they live in. A life of service. Thank you.
I agree with you, Jim. The council voted to continue collecting funds that were previously allocated for fire services, without input from Edmonds residents. The city must reconsider this decision and put an end to this ongoing tax—projected to generate approximately $7 million this year—that is being used at their discretion. Given our current situation, I have little confidence in the council’s spending decisions.
Susan, are you also following any details about future taxes that are in the City’s budget? The City Council is planning on raising property taxes another $6,000,000 via a vote of the residents later on in 2025.
One of my beefs is that the City info sessions about RFA annexation are not giving us the full picture about upcoming property tax increases in Edmonds.
Yes Theresa! I am aware there will be more coming, although I am not clear on the details. I personally cannot vote in favor of the RFA without understanding the total picture ask, which the city is not being transparent about. We have more work to do before I can support.
Is joining the Shoreline Fire Department an option?
That topic was very briefly addressed in the study by Fitch consultants in 2024. I think the alternative needs to be analyzed again. At the time Fitch approached the Shoreline fire department they were working on their own RFA annexation plan with Kenmore and Lake Forest Park. That RFA was approved by the voters in Jan 2025. The timing is much better now to fully study service from the Shoreline RFA. This is one of reasons the opposition group (which I belong to) is saying we need to pause- vote No for annexation- and do a thorough study of alternatives. Another thing that has changed since the Fitch study is that Mukilteo is looking for a regional approach to fire /EMS service. We have options on who provides these important services.
Re: huge price increase for 2026. We do not need to accept the South County Fire Commissioners argument that we should pay based on our property’s assessed value. I quite like paying for fully loaded cost of the professional firefighter/EMS staff plus overhead of central administration. We have the highest assessed values- we should not subsidize Lynnwood and MountLake Terrace and the extensive unincorporated areas where the property assessed values are lower. The highest property value city always wants to pay a cost plus overhead contract; not a property tax assessment.
Theresa, thanks for your input! I am following the various perspectives to educate myself on this important vote. You have helped me in my decision making!!
Mr. Johnson, If the contract is the same amount as the annexation will cost (which it is) how does consuming 17% of the general fund have anything to do with anything in terms of deciding which way to go on this? That’s just which envelope do we take the money out of. The whole point of this discussion is whether or not there is a less expensive and more efficient way to provide about the same level of service which we all need. We know the city is broke or going broke as are most of the other towns locally. The RFA’s sudden pulling the plug on Edmonds fair contract that suddenly isn’t fair (according to them) has only exacerbated Edmonds problems. RFA is inefficiently run as is the city, so they have joined forces now to really stick it to the wealthy Edmonds land owners who aren’t willing to pay their fair share in theory. The real problem is we have elected officials who want the job to be important or look important but they don’t really want to do the job that we need them to do.
All our local governments and agencies right now need to be all hands on deck to figure the least expensive way to purchase and provide the basic needs that affect all of us in common. This has nothing to do with whether or not we respect or value the individual firefighters for what they do. We obviously highly value them, or we wouldn’t pay them six figure salaries. The RFA is complaining about needing expensive trucks, yet they put wear on them, sending them out on aid calls with three or four people just standing by if needed in many cases. This also burns expensive fuel that doesn’t need to be wasted. This puts wear on tires, engines, brakes and transmissions for no real good reason that they have proven as far as I can tell. It’s inefficient and needlessly costly. On the city side of things, they hold a completely unnecessary and expensive special election instead of wrapping all this up into one unpleasant but necessary tax ask because they are terrified of a possible no vote if they are combined. The whole thing just smells off to anyone with even a little common sense. RFA is basically a state supported monopoly on EMS with little to no competition from the private sector.
Stay tuned.
Alicia- you have produced the only balanced/ unbiased public meeting so far on this topic through NW Civic Circle. i feel the inertia moving as voters are starting to learn about this complex issue. It’s a mash up of the City’s fiscal emergency, the taxing mechanism to pay for this RFA’s services, and a subject matter expert’s opinion of the alternatives. Would you consider producing another public meeting in late March before the ballots drop? i think there would be strong interest then. Thanks for considering this.
It’s an important decision, especially for a city with an older population. Edmonds has a median age of 46.3 years, higher than cities like Seattle, with a median age of 35.6 years, and Lynnwood, 39.2 years, making fast, high-quality emergency services critical.
I found out that South County Fire has a cardiac arrest survival rate of 61.5%, which is surprisingly far above the state (38.5%) and national average (34.3%).
Joining the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) means Edmonds would no longer control how fire services are managed and could face higher costs later with no easy way to leave. Which no one loves.
I’ve been told firefighters are cross-trained in multiple areas, including EMS, and crews often move directly from call to call, rather than wasting time returning to the station to switch vehicles or splitting up a crew when a life critical call could come in at any time of the day or night. I was also told that fire trucks and fire engines serve different roles and have extremely different costs. The same goes for aid cars, medic units, command vehicles, hazmat, tenders tillers, technical rescue, and boats.
Edmonds needs to be spending with the highest efficiency possible. There’s no simple solution, but Edmonds is full of honest intelligent people. Hopefully we can find a more efficient and affordable way to provide services.