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Last month, My Neighborhood News Group brought you a series of stories about government finances. As promised, we reviewed every comment to see what else you wanted to know about. Here is our first follow-up story. If you missed the series, you can begin here: Part 1.
Nancy December 31, 2025 At 8:13 am
I would like an article on the different models of city governments and their pro and cons. We have local examples to draw upon and their successes and flaws. For example: mayor vs city manager vs ? Thank you.
Types of government
Local governments are generally categorized into two types: mayor/council and council/manager There is a third — commissions — but no commissions operate in Washington now.
Each type of government is created using the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). This is the Washington State law that tells local governments what to do and how to do it. Local governments must follow the law that applies to their type of government.
History and jargon
Most cities incorporated before 1970 are mayor/council forms of government because that’s what residents were most familiar with. State and the federal governments are organized this way – a governor and a president with executive powers – so it is familiar.
Washington state is split on the two forms, with council/manager the most popular. Big cities, like Seattle, still have the mayor/council system.
In Washington, there’s more to work through: whether you are a first-, second- or third-class city or a code city.
Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds are all noncharter code cities.
These cities choose the form of government: mayor/council, council/manager or commission. Voters have the power to make that change at any time through voter initiative process or if council votes to put up a ballot measure.
Comparisons
Lynnwood operates under the strong mayor/assistant city administrator/council system and has been for 15 years.
Edmonds adopted the mayor/city administrator/council system less than six months ago.
Mountlake Terrace operates under the city manager system and always has, which is unusual given that it is an old city. Three types in one area make for a great comparison.
This is what it looks like on paper, apples to apples:
So the question is, what are the pros and cons of each type.
Mayor/Council (Edmonds until mid-2025)
The mayor must live in the city. Residents may feel the mayor is invested in the city and understand the history and community culture and have valuable trusted relationships. The mayor will listen and act differently than a paid professional with no community ties.
The mayor is directly accountable to residents and can be voted out of office every four years. The council cannot change the mayor’s elected tenure.
The mayor runs the city, but the council has the last word because it controls the budget. There’s the incentive for getting along.
All city departments report to the mayor which can be challenging if the mayor does not have experience at running a large organization or a civic organization. A mayor’s other obligations include connecting with residents and functioning as a ceremonial head for many events.
In short, it is a lot of work for one person in a large city.
“The mayor/council form is democracy in its purest form,” former Edmonds City Councilmember Tom Mesaros.
He was among the founders of the Edmonds Civic Roundtable, formed in 2021 “The mayor is accountable to voters,” he said, noting that only voters can vote out the city’s CEO, not the councilmembers. “The direct vote method is democracy in action.” Mesaros said.
Mayor/city administrator/council (Lynnwood and Edmonds)
In this scenario, the mayor puts day-to-day operations in the hands of the city administrator, like a chief of staff. The city administrator spends a lot of time coordinating and managing employees.
This frees up the mayor for big-picture things like policy direction or meaningful work like meeting with residents.
The city administrator functions as the liaison between the mayor and council and must have a good relationship with both.
But at the end of the day, the city administrator reports to, and is employed at the pleasure of the mayor – not the council.
Lynnwood’s version
In 2011, the Lynnwood Council put the choice of mayor/council or city manager/council form of government up to voters.
The city manager proposal failed at the ballot box, but then-mayor Don Gough got the message from the vocal minority and created the assistant city administrator position to address community concerns.
In 2014, Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith inherited the assistant administrator position. She told My Neighborhood News Group that she was thrilled to have that position on her executive team. In an email, Smith said she still believes in the strong mayor system of government as long as “a strong mayor can show extensive career and ability history in administrative/CEO expertise.”
“A strong mayor manages the city,” she said. “Usually a city budget is about 80% personnel, which means that about 80% of a strong mayor’s time is focused on their staff and all the work related to the HR world of responsibilities. That being said, a strong mayor needs to bring leadership in vision, goal setting and outcomes to all city staff and council.”
Edmonds’ version
Edmonds is currently transitioning from mayor/council to council/city administrator/mayor form of government. The city council voted to create the position in mid-2025.
Todd Tatum is the acting city administrator (and the City’s former economic development director). His portfolio includes some, but not all, Edmonds departments. He said he already sees the benefits.
“It’s creating efficiencies and alignment as the city sets strategies and objectives,” Tatum said. He said he’s spending a lot of time with staff getting their ideas and coordinating across teams on topics such as housing or zoning, which have cross-departmental impacts.
“It’s internal alignment,” he said. “Where are we going? What is our north star? It allows for more unity as we manage a portfolio of objectives. It’s closer collaboration and a central point of contact. It’s continuous improvement.”
Tatum said the City’s current key performance indicators (KPIs), benchmarks and good governance aren’t being described to the public in a way that shows that residents are getting value or whether the government is performing in a way that lives up to the values. He expects to roll that piece of the plan out later this spring.
He admits it will take time. Tatum is in the running for the permanent city administrator position. The application period closed in December with an announcement expected soon.
City manager/council (Mountlake Terrace)
In this form of government, the city manager is a professional manager appointed by the council. Voters do not choose the city manager.
The city manager is like a CEO appointed by a board to manage all aspects of the city. The city manager develops the budget. The council cannot interfere with the city manager’s personnel decisions.
The city manager job is typically staffed by a professional administrator with experience doing this exact type of high-level work. A good city manager has experience with the entire workings/complexities of government.
The manager is, in theory, apolitical and has no obligation to live in the community. Residents may feel like the city manager is an outsider who doesn’t understand the culture.
Residents also cannot vote the city manager out of office. Only the council can remove a city manager and that is by majority vote. It can happen at any time.
It happens more often than you’d think. The City of Shoreline went through four city managers in its first four years of existence. So finding that balance between managing the city and managing the council is definitely a must-have skill.
“A city manager is great if you have a great city manager,” said Maggie Fimia, a former member of the Shoreline City Council who also served on the King County Council.
“Consensus builder is a key skill set,” said Mountlake Terrace City Manager Jeff Niten, admitting that it can be difficult to “have seven bosses.” Niten has been with Mountlake Terrace since 2023. Before that he was the Shelton’s city manager.
Niten is responsible for everything. “I always carry my phone,” he said, adding that vacations, real vacations, can be a little rough on the family.
Mountlake Terrace Mayor Steve Woodard said the council’s lack of daily decision-making power does not bother him. “Jeff is the head and we [councilmembers] are the heart of our city. The seven councilmembers are able to represent our community,” he said, without worrying about that paving project that is behind schedule.
What kind of government is best? It depends.
According to the Municipal Research and Services Center, a resource for local governments, here’s the best place to start when deciding which type of government works best for each community: The community (and council) should ask these five questions about the outcome they want to see.
- Responsiveness and accountability – which form will be the most responsive?
- Professional management – which form provides the best quality of management?
- The appropriate role of politics in administration – should politics be removed from administration?
- Effectiveness and efficiency – which form produces the most efficient and effective management?
- Political harmony (an oxymoron?) – which form produces greater harmony and less divisiveness?
Who makes the decision about a change in government style? Voters. It can come via voter initiative or a council decision to put it to the voters.
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