With the defeat of Proposition 1, Edmonds voters sent a clear message: Before asking taxpayers for more money, the City must demonstrate discipline, accountability and operational focus. In short, Edmonds must begin functioning more like a business — and less like a nonprofit.
When businesses face financial constraints, they prioritize:
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- Needs over wants
- Measurable outcomes over hopeful projections
- Efficiency over duplication
- Accountability over ambiguity
- Performance over sentiment.
Nonprofits, by design, operate differently. They pursue mission and service goals, often relying on grants, donors, volunteers and partnerships. They are not built around financial self-sufficiency; they are built around purpose, even when the numbers don’t pencil. City government should not operate like that. Edmonds has increasingly moved toward a nonprofit posture, outsourcing core operational functions to outside organizations that — while well-intentioned — are not required to deliver against key performance indicators, financial targets or measurable returns for taxpayers. These groups are not elected, not financially accountable to the public and not required to justify outcomes the way every small business in this city must.
That model may feel collaborative, but it is not sustainable when the City faces long-term structural budget gaps. This is the part voters clearly understand: You cannot outsource essential work to groups that are not KPI-driven, not bound to performance metrics and not accountable for financial results — and then claim the only solution is a $14.5 million levy.
Cities across Washington — including Shoreline, Bothell, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and others — maintain economic development, mobility, permitting and community engagement functions in-house, staffed by professionals who must deliver measurable outcomes tied to adopted plans, metrics and financial frameworks. These cities publish clear goals, track performance and adjust based on results. Edmonds must move in that direction.
Operating as a business means:
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- Setting KPIs for departments
- Tying budgets to performance, not hopes
- Prioritizing core services before expanding programs
- Publishing quarterly operating metrics
- Eliminating duplication
- Using data, not assumptions, to drive decision-making
- Ensuring every contract, consultant, or partnership has clear deliverables
It means asking, every time: Does this generate value for the residents who pay for it? Voters were not rejecting community investment. They were rejecting a system that continues to ask for more while producing less clarity, less transparency and fewer measurable outcomes.
It’s time for Edmonds to modernize its operating model and rebuild trust by acting the way every successful small business does: With focus, accountability and a commitment to results. Edmonds doesn’t need more studies. It needs a plan, execution and performance. That’s what taxpayers expect — and what they just voted for.
Lee Reeves lives in Edmonds.
