The Burien City Council’s Feb. 23 meeting highlighted a city in transition, balancing the technicalities of governance with urgent community needs.
From a spirited debate over Council Rules of Order – where residents supported fewer barriers to public participation – to the logistical hurdles of rescheduling meeting days, the session underscored the complexities of local administration.
However, the most definitive action came with the unanimous approval of a new public safety sales tax, a strategic move aimed at securing the future of the city’s highly regarded Co-Response program, along with other public safety improvements.
As the council also began the divisive process of narrowing down applicants for various advisory boards, the evening’s proceedings painted a picture of a city government navigating both internal procedural shifts and critical investments in community welfare.
Council Rules Of Order Discussed
During Public Comments, multiple community members requested that rules for public comments be changed back to what they had been previously. Speakers said they wanted the rules to support increased public participation. They asked the council to remove the rules that speakers must sign up one hour before the start of the meeting, or name the city they live or work in.
These changes and more were discussed by the council. Other changes brought up by councilmembers involved removing redundancies, improving clarity, and adjustments to how proclamations are done. However, no vote was taken to formally change the Council Rules of Order.
The possibility of changing the meeting time or day was also discussed. City Manager Adolfo Bailon said while the start time could be adjusted without repercussions, staff had done analysis around switching meeting days from Monday to another weekday. The prevailing desire of staff and council has recently supported that switch.
The analysis, unfortunately, showed that holding council meetings on any other weekday would cause chaos with other advisory bodies. Members of those bodies had signed up to meet on a specific day, and if their meeting was changed to accommodate the council meeting changing, the city might then have to recruit new members for each of these roles.
Public Safety Sales Tax Approved
The council unanimously approved Ordinance 891, instituting a new .01% sales tax. This tax increase, newly allowed by state legislation, will provide revenue that is reserved for public safety spending. Once the new tax is in place, cities will also qualify for additional grant funding that can be used for things like hiring new officers and other public safety programs.
There is strong support for using the new tax revenue to extend and increase the city’s Co-Response program. This program, whose grant funding is currently set to expire at the end of 2026, has been incredibly popular and replicated by many other cities. The program currently costs over $160,000 annually per co-responder, but costs are expected to rise just to maintain current staffing levels, and an increase in both staffing and shift coverage is desired.
Co-responders have become a critical part of the community and a major referral source for people in need. They perform outreach, and help fill vacancies at Bloomside. While co-responders are active, cops are freed up for more serious offenders. Cops love this program and there is a desire for co-responder staffing 24/7. The program is currently only staffed from 2 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Friday, leaving long windows without co-responders.
Council Advisory Board Selection Process
The council deliberated over applicants for the city’s advisory boards, including the Airport Committee, Parks & Recreation, Planning Commission, Human Services, and Business & Economic Development Partnership. The council did not make final selections today, but narrowed down the pool of applicants for an upcoming interview process.
During this process, the vote was often divided 4–3, with Councilmembers Linda Akey, Alex Andrade, and Kevin Schilling opposed to the majority decision. Interviews for the selected candidates will take place in March.
Video
Watch the full, raw video of this meeting below:
