EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been corrected to clarify that Seattle City Light is a publicly-owned municipal electric utility operated by the City of Seattle, not a private nonprofit utility.
In an action-packed, long session on Monday, July 27, 2026, the Burien City Council addressed critical issues shaping the community’s financial and political landscape.
Heading the agenda was a briefing from Seattle City Light regarding impending multi-year utility rate increases aimed at modernizing aging infrastructure and grid reliability.
Beyond utility costs, the council took decisive steps to reshape city governance—filling a vacant council seat with former candidate Patricia Hudson and officially terminating City Manager Adolfo Bailon’s contract without cause following a contentious late-night vote.
Seattle City Light Rates To Increase
Seattle City Light (SCL) gave a presentation to the council, the first in a series from local utility providers. SCL is a publicly-owned municipal electric utility operated by the City of Seattle, and is solely supported through revenues from customers, without any tax assistance. SCL provides electricity to nearly 1 million residential and commercial customers, with around 20,000 located in Burien.
The power they provide comes predominantly (77%) from hydroelectricity, with 11% derived from wind power and 6% coming from nuclear energy sources. SCL was the first utility in the US to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, back in 2005. They provide some of the lowest rates for electricity in the country.
However, with an aging power grid, increased demand, and inflation-based cost increases for equipment and wages, rates will be going up. Increases are scheduled as follows: 9.5% in 2027, an additional 9.5% in 2028, and then increases of between 7 and 11% each year through 2032. This will amount to more than doubling the rate customers were paying in 2019. A 9.5% increase in 2027 will mean an additional $7 to $14 per month for most families after the first rate hike.
SCL knows this is a big ask, and they have increased assistance programs to help those in need. There is a 60% discount available for residents that are income qualified, and income qualifications have been expanded in order to help an expected 31,000 more people. In addition, SCL provides assistance in applying for federal and state utility assistance programs.
For those who don’t qualify for rate discounts, SCL now offers a time-of-use rate program. They charge less for off-peak electricity usage, with an increase during peak hours. With this new program, electricity is at a premium between 5-9pm, and is cheapest between midnight and 6am. Further details of the time-of-use rate schedule can be found at the above link.
With the increased cost, they hope to provide customers with better service, catching up on deferred maintenance that will help reduce and minimize outages. They will strengthen cybersecurity, replace aging utility poles, and trim trees, as well as create a smarter power grid that can handle increased community solar energy production.
It was mentioned that homeowners who have trees overgrowing power lines should not attempt to remove these branches on their own. Contact SCL, and professionals will safely take care of any problem branches.
Council Vacancy Filled By Former Candidate
The council conducted interviews with four applicants, to fill the seat recently left by Linda Akey. All candidates were asked the same series of questions by each sitting councilmember, and it was agreed that they were a strong group of candidates.
Patricia Hudson, who previously ran against Councilmember Kevin Schilling, was chosen in a 5-0-1 vote, with Councilmember Alex Andrade abstaining since Hudson wasn’t her top pick. Councilmember Schilling said she may not have been his top pick, but he voted with the majority anyway, in the spirit of cooperation.
The other candidates interviewed included Jacques Colon, who expressed enthusiasm for putting his local government experience to work with the city in some capacity soon. Also, Jessica Ivey, who ran for city council in 2025 and currently serves as Chair of the Planning Commission. The fourth of five candidates was Krystal Marx, who served on the city council several years ago, including being appointed Deputy Mayor in 2020.
Hudson will have an opportunity to be sworn in at her first council meeting, a study session on Aug. 6, at 6 p.m. This meeting has just been added to the schedule, as a forum to discuss the new budget.
City Manager Bailon Terminated
After a late executive session, the council majority voted to terminate its city manager contract with Adolfo Bailon. The termination is without cause, and he will receive severance pay as per his employment contract. This decision comes months after he was placed on paid administrative leave, with no explanation to the public. Interim City Manager Bob Larson was given approval to begin looking for candidates to serve in the newly-vacated position.
Mayor Sarah Moore opened the meeting to public comments on this topic. Councilmember Schilling said holding an unscheduled public comments session at 10 p.m., after a lengthy executive session, with no prior public notification, was a “charade.” The room was empty besides staff and one remaining member of the public, with all the chairs stacked for the night. Interim City Attorney Ann Marie Soto said this was standard practice. In response, Schilling told Soto, who has only ever attended meetings via Zoom, “you’re not even here.” Minutes later, Schilling appeared to leave the meeting before it was adjourned.
However, hands were raised on Zoom, and five more members of the public spoke, saying that they were indeed present and following the late-night decision. One mentioned that there have been many meetings and public comment periods since Bailon was placed on administrative leave. If members of the public had anything to say about it, they had the opportunity. Another speaker said Bailon was terminated for “abusive behavior,” and the city should save money by not giving him severance pay. To this, Councilmember Andrade asked how a member of the public could know any reason for his termination, when the council had only just received a report about it.
Video
Below is full, raw video of this meeting (most of the late fireworks happen after an Executive Session ends near the 4-hour, 28-minute mark):
It was a sad evening for anyone who cares about Burien. Under Adolfo’s leadership, Burien became cleaner, safer, and business friendly. Some people want chaos and don’t care about the actual residents. They won this time and Burien lost a fine human being.
City Manager Bailon Terminated, awesome, about time!
This new Council is getting more and more ridiculous and expensive given how much this vindictive action will cost Burien. The cost of advertising for the position is just more money Burien doesn’t have, just wait until Gavin sues. With this drama and dysfunction the pickings will be slim finding anyone who wants to answer to that clown show.
“”…SCL is a private non-profit utility, and is solely supported through revenues from customers, without any tax assistance…”
SCL is a City of Seattle Department, a public utility. You got the rest right. And TOU billing is not an option, but de facto change in terms for those who don’t qualify for assistance.
Strange Days about Balion too.
Instead of focusing on public safety, economic growth, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, this council continues to create controversy, division, and instability. Their decision to remove the City Manager after placing him on administrative leave raises serious questions about the cost to taxpayers, the disruption to city operations, and the long-term impact on Burien’s leadership. Reports indicate the council voted to terminate City Manager Adolfo Bailon without publicly stating a cause, a move that could result in even more severance costs, legal expenses, and another costly search for new leadership.
Burien residents deserve transparency, accountability, and leaders focused on solving problems – – not creating new ones. Every hour spent on political infighting is time and taxpayer money that could be spent improving roads, supporting local businesses, strengthening public safety, and making Burien a better place to live. Not in favor of the newly elected council members….
This is a wonderful, truthful letter. The majority of the council is a disaster and an expensive one. I knew they would be prejudiced and inexperienced, but I never thought it would be this bad. They had no intention to be fair. Adolfo lucked out. He is intelligent, experienced, and fair. Can you imagine trying to work with them? They need to go to council school or resign.
@Carol, Thank you, well said!
What is so sad is that there are/were so many (voters) that do think the same as most of this council otherwise some of them wouldn’t had been voted in. AND this inside only voting is a bunch of hogwash!
We can’t really make progress on any of the needs of the city with a dysfunctional leader so I personally think it’s worth the time and money to get someone effective in that role
So you are saying that those people came in with open minds and after a few months felt that they couldn’t work with Adolfo? Then they should have resigned and saved us money. Obviously, you have never owned a small business. You learn that when it is your own money, you spend wisely or not at all. And here I thought that they had a radical agenda.
Adolfo was worth every penny paid to him while he served because of his refusal to bow down to King County and the Homeless Industrial Complex. The passage of the Camping Ban was the most important thing under his leadership, and the entire health of Burien has improved because of it. For anyone to say different is free to house drug addled squatters on their private property, but they won’t so why should Burien.
That’s easy to say, but where’s the transparency? If the City Manager was truly “dysfunctional,” then it should have been easily explained to the public. Instead, the council put him on paid administrative leave for months, then terminated him without cause while taxpayers are left paying the bill. That’s not accountability, that’s asking the public to simply trust their decision without the facts. (AGAIN)
And by the way, you seem to consistently defend this group of council members, regardless of the decisions they make (questionable or not). I find that… quite telling.
Either way, it is what it is. My concern is what’s actually best for this city and all of the people who live here – thats all.
Well, the previous council did hide his performance review from the public…so, I don’t think transparency is the best argument here.
He’s not elected, he’s an employee. Does where you work release your performance review to the public?
Wow Tom, you’re making my point for me.
If a previous council lacked transparency, that doesn’t justify that this council doing the same?? Residents of this city deserve better. Pointing fingers at someone else when your in the wrong doesn’t define anything except…
My concern isn’t about defending one council over another. It’s about whether taxpayers are being treated with honesty and respect by elected and appointed City Council members. When a City Manager is placed on paid administrative leave for months and then terminated without cause, resulting in a significant financial cost to the public, it’s reasonable to ask for an explanation that goes beyond “trust us.” ( Lack of transparency and accountability are major, major, issues in this state and country right now – the public needs to hold all governing bodies accountable regardless of political affiliation.
Also for your information so your well aware, performance evaluations of a city manager often contain information that is exempt from public disclosure under Washington’s Public Records Act, so simply saying a review was “hidden” doesn’t necessarily mean it was improperly withheld.
Personnel laws certainly limit what can be disclosed, and I understand that. But those laws don’t prevent the council from explaining its decision-making process, outlining the performance expectations that weren’t met, or providing as much context as legally possible. Instead, the public was left with very little information while footing the bill.
Also transparency isn’t selective. Anyone who defends this type of behavior while criticizing the same conduct from previous councils is applying a double standard. Burien residents deserve consistent expectations from every council. This should always apply regardless of who is in office.
Carol,
You make good points, and you are right that we should always be demanding transparency. Thank you for your thoughtful response to my kneejerk comment.
2 back to back council meetings and over a quarter of a million dollars of non budgeted discretionary costs approved by the majority council. where is the money coming from?
Instead of just complaining, let’s demand an accounting when the council is ever done with its out of control spending and worldwide search for a city manager. Maybe the unions that support rhem can pitch in.