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On Nov. 4, the people overwhelming voted against the mayor’s $14.5 million levy lid lift by 59%. At last week’s City Council meeting, many residents spoke against the City’s utility tax increase, which amounts to approximately $3.2 million. This move requires no voter approval. This act has been characterized by some as a political loophole, exploiting the statutory absence of a rate cap on city-owned utilities while circumventing the electorate’s decision.
Administration chose to defy the electorate. This raises serious democratic accountability issues. He has ignored a significant recommendation by his self-appointed Blue Ribbon Panel – to form a citizens financial advisory group to help inform council and mayor on budgetary issues.
The mayor and council are not listening to the people. They seem to be tone deaf. Trust has been eroded or lost.
Duplicity seems to be a part of Mayor Rosen’s character. He ran a dishonest campaign telling voters for 18 months during his campaign that he was qualified to be Edmonds mayor. He told us that he was a retired business owner/CEO of a well-known Seattle company. He was not. See the letter to the editor I wrote asking him for clarification, and his mia culpa. He was a successful PR executive – nothing more. He ran on catchy phrases and slogans like “stop the crazies” and “volunteers are our secret sauce”. What he’s given us is “crazies on steroids” and disallowed the “secret sauce”.
During the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) annexation campaign he hired an outside PR agency and paid them $64,000 to promote the annexation. He did this behind closed doors – keeping the voters in the dark to what he was doing. A complaint was filed with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) – (RCW 42.17A.555 — he cried “innocent.” The PDC disagreed, issuing him a warning to stop. Annexation passed. Using scare tactics, the RFA and firefighters union, pushing annexation as was the mayor, sent out a text to Edmonds saying – “I’m Conner, a firefighter in Edmonds – and I want to be there for you on your worst days…I hope you’ll stand with me and Vote YES”. Translation: “if you don’t vote for the annexation, RFA may not be able to come to your home to put out a fire.” Or “we may not be able to answer your 911 call.” We went from paying $12 million to $21 million for the same level of fire and EMS protection – How was this good for Edmonds? Scare tactics once again are being used – closing Frances Anderson Center, cutting back on parks and recreation, Yost pool. The levy failed so now he/council just passed a utility tax, doubling it to 20% – thumbing their nose at the will of the people.
At the Nov. 25 City Council meeting he heard from many homeowners that these tax increases may put them out of their homes. Businesses told him that they are operating on the ragged edge. There are no exemptions or hardship relief for the elderly, low-income, or the disabled associated with this utility tax increase. Do your own research and decide – RCW 35A.01.040, RCW 35A.82.020, RCW 35.21.870, MRSC- Utility tax Overview. And yet his first answer to us all is more taxes – let the taxpayer pay.
Mayor Rosen, it is time for you to resign because you have shown that you are not qualified to run our City and you cannot be trusted. You have turned your back on Edmonds and trampled on your Oath of Office and constituents.
A recall is in order.
Theresa Campa Hutchison is an Edmonds resident.
I had hoped this mayor would have been better but it turns out he is just the same side of the coin. I don’t expect a elected leader to fix everything, to be fair there is only so much a mayor can do. But I am disappointed. I did have one talk with the mayor once in the end I said we have a good thing going here don’t screw it up, well here we are I don’t suggest a recall but certainly I haven’t been happy. Two cents from the peanut gallery.
And let’s install Diane Buckshnis…!! 🙂
…not electing DB was a huge ‘miss’ for our city at such a critical moment.
Agreed!
Agreed!
How do you think this works? If Mayor Rosen doesn’t resign, then you have to do a recall process & I don’t see how you just “install” Diane. He won, she lost. More people voted for him. Now folks want to get rid of him. There is a procedure for recall. Be interesting to see all of you who want that to get to work on it.
Totally agree. She was my write in candidate.
I am with you All The Way! If this is the mechanism we have to use, then let’s do it, let’s get organized. “The mayor and council are not listening to the people. They seem to be tone deaf. Trust has been eroded or lost.” I don’t think there was one iota of trust for this mayor for most residents. Whatever the case, there is very, very little now. Whatever group you head up, whatever you create, whatever we can do to help get this done, I volunteer. Count me in. It is past time to recall this do-nothing, deaf-to-constituents mayor. Thank you.
Amen
I have not agreed with all of Mike Rosen’s actions but I do not support a call for resignation. I think he and the council members have been honest, diligent and open in dealing with the difficult, long term budget issues. There seems, to me, to be a vocal group of No people in Edmonds who do not like or trust any official actions, from bike lanes to housing changes to city budget cuts. I think our city council and Mayor are dealing with a myriad of difficult decisions as best they can. Sometimes we may not agree with a decision but it does not mean it is duplicitous. People voted against the 13.5 million dollar levy lid but many may support a smaller ask. Our city will benefit from groups working together in a positive, proactive way, not just saying No to every action.
I agree Judy. As I pointed out in response to Jim Ogonowski’s alternative budget column, the numbers advanced by both sides are essentially the same. The alternate plan that was proposed replaced the utility tax hike with $1.2 million in additional sales taxes plus an assumption that existing internal service fund balances could simply be transferred to the general fund (an argument that the city has repeatedly rejected). The city had to find the money somewhere to bridge the gap until a longer term solution can be found. Choosing a different path than one proposed by an external party doesn’t make the mayor duplicitous.
Niall,
Please don’t bring my name into a political debate. My focus has been strictly on city finances. To be clear, beyond the utility tax increase just passed, the city also built additional sales tax revenue into its 2026 projections. So, the utility tax increase is above and beyond anything I suggested.
As for my proposal, I stand firmly by it. The city has yet to provide any documentation showing where my analysis is flawed, and until they do, I see no reason to change course. My recommendation remains: transfer already available funds from the Internal Service Funds (ISF) back into the General Fund, where they originated. This move more than offsets the utility tax increase. In fact, because a transfer can be immediate, it’s a more effective solution to any cash flow gap since utility taxes will only be collected incrementally over the year.
The ISF is overfunded. Based on the city’s latest financial statements, another $636,000 will be added to the ISF balance this year alone. That’s not speculation—it’s based on city financial documents.
Thank you for bringing a more balanced view to the conversation.
I agree Judy. Thank.you.
Well said!! We, too, fell for the catchy phrases and felt Rosen would be a breath of fresh air after the debacle cause by Nelson. Obviously, we chose poorly! Let’s hope we can do better in choosing someone who has Edmonds interests first!!
Respectfully, this isn’t about being “No people.” It’s about insisting on transparency, data, and responsible stewardship of public money.
Calling for accountability when major financial decisions and policy declarations are made without plans, metrics, or alternatives isn’t the same as rejecting everything.
I agree, the mayor needs to go and get someone competent to run the City of Edmonds. I also propose that some of the council members need to go. Many of them do not communicate and go silent when people ask questions of them.
Judy, The mayor and half the council are NOT dealing with it that’s the problem, their answer is to throw more money at it, getting it from us! It’s too complicated for them or they can’t be bothered (as in the past proves) to get a handle on the difficulties of running a City on a budget. They listen to no one, even people they hire for answers, or citizens willing to put in extensive time putting together logical plans or at least possibles that maybe can be fine tuned. We cannot afford to continue to operate with this council or mayor it’s plain as can be. And since they do nothing to correct it this is a start in the right direction. But it’s a mess and going to need some smart strong people to eventually get us out of this hole. Or at least run efficiently with all $ accounted for and used as intended. We taxpayers cannot afford to always be the answer by being hit to pay thru the nose carte blanc because it’s easiest for them.
Thank you, Judy, for a voice of reason. This knee-jerk vindictiveness from the “No on everything” group is truly dispiriting.
Lack of oversight and accountability is the plague affecting not only Edmonds but most other near cities, the county, the state and the country. A lot of it is incompetence but alot of outright fraud. Look at Sound Transit. I am close to the light rail and use it anytime going to Seattle but I am sure billions of the dollars were grifted away getting where it is today. Prior to the light rail opening I avoided Seattle most of the time but enough about that. With the mayor ramming through the doubling of the utility tax just because he could he is totally alienating the people. I voted for him last time. Hoping Wil Chen might run against him or Michelle Dotsch….voices of reason.
Probably a one-term mayor, Rosen confronted the city’s financial issues by persistently pursuing misguided counsel and then diligently adhering to it. His purported “special sauce” included employing costly consultants and advocating their proposals through public relations initiatives. Regrettably, the administration overlooked the advice of the Blue-Ribbon group, a distinguished panel of experienced financial specialists, including their suggestion to establish a citizen advisory panel.
As a reminder, we (not me) re-elected CM Eck. She was the biggest proponent of Prop 1 and all other tax increases (RFA, utility, sales, B&O). Prop 1 failed by 60% and she was re-elected by 60%. How did that happen? Did we think she was going to stop? CM Nand (who has never been competitively elected to council) voted yes on utility taxes (and all others) then suggested that low income and seniors should search out subsidies although few are available. This is clearly an admission that these tax increases will be a financial burden on these groups. We the people must now live with and accept our voting choices.
What happened to managing resources wisely so people can afford to stay in the community they live in? Suggesting those impacted by higher fees and taxes ‘just apply for assistance,’ is not good governance. We deserve budgeting that keeps people in their homes, not pushed toward aid they never needed before.
Tom, to correct something you’ve said, I am not pressing for or championing additional sales taxes, including a B&O new tax. The Council as a body is looking at all options and has not voted on a B&O tax.
Not yet you haven’t. Just a matter of time….and I can only imagine what the next levy lift is going to look like!!
With all due respect Ms Eck, there hasn’t been a single increase that you, CM Paine and CM Nand have opposed. Your vision and solution seem to only run towards having tax-payers foot the bill, for whatever it is, somehow. Why are none of you engaging with possible alternatives? Why is there such reluctance to partner and dig into something that might help our situation? What are you all afraid of? We all want the same thing – a city that is healthy and operates within its means. Why wouldn’t you turn every possible stone to see if, just in case, there might be something you and your colleagues may not have considered. It is baffling to see such lack of curiosity and problems solving from leaders.
Maybe I should run. My slogan will be “third Mike’s the charm!”.
I kid, I kid.
Just like everywhere else in this State, you get what you vote for. Time to get our heads straight and vote these liberals out of office and put people with common sense in our (state) and city offices. STOP THIS MADNESS!
An interesting application of ALL CAPS! proclamations Pete. It does however, remind me of someone else who utilizes this technique. I need not (and cannot) mention his name
Maybe it is time to consider a professional city manager.
Respectfully, I offer this: 1. Recalling an elected official is a heavy-handed, divisive, and unpredictable undertaking. A recall petition must be based upon acts of malfeasance and/or violations of law–as determined by a judge. The lead-up to a recall vote will divide us further. Remember, our system of government provides regular elections so the people can remove officials with whom they disagree.
2. When facing a financial crisis, the mayor should evaluate, and solicit input upon, all viable options. A prudent mayor will look under every rock, and will undoubtedly rock the boat.
3. A mayor cannot impose taxes or fees. A city council (and in some instances voters) are empowered to impose taxes and fees. The mayor’s role is to develop feasible alternatives, and to offer recommendations. A city manager would do the same.
4. Managing a city is not as easy as some seem to think. Government entities and businesses have commonality but intentionally, governments are not businesses. Private sector methods may or may not be suitable to a government setting.
5. IMHO, this discourse should focus on which municipal services we are willing to de-fund to create a balanced budget.
6. Enlightened societies should be recognized not only for achievement, but also respectful discourse. An Edmonds Kind of Day is better sans vitriol. Let’s all take the high road.
Closing the comments now. Thanks.