This Letter to the Editor from verified resident Dr. C. Edgar was also submitted to the Burien City Council in advance of the council's February 9. 2026 meeting.

[NOTE FROM EDITOR: Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Highline Journal or Daniel Media.  If you wish to submit a story, photo, article, or letter, please email us at info@thehighlinejournal.com. We look forward to hearing from you.]

Dear Editor and Burien City Council:

The City of Burien is required by WA state law to do these things as priority items:

  1. Provide for Public Safety and maintain a balanced budget, and
  2. Maintain the infrastructure of the city.

All of the other items that Burien has been including in its budget are optional and can be reduced or eliminated. The city is not a social service agency. It must operate in a fiscally responsible manner.

The recent 2025 Public Safety Levy that was voted on by citizens appeared to have been defeated. Now the very residents who went online and strongly urged residents to vote against the 2025 Public Safety Levy are encouraging the city to put the levy on the ballot again because the monies for their pet projects appear to have dried up. Levies cost the city money that this city does not have an abundance of. And these vocal residents seem to believe that they are so important that they can get other residents to reverse their previous vote.

Items that are not required to be funded in the 2026 Biennial Budget are the hardcopy Burien Magazine and costly mailings to residential and business addresses; Parks and Recreation; escalating Human Services and the associated grants to agencies inside or outside the city; Discover Burien staff and the contracts for city events; Animal Control Services; and additional full-time staff to each of the Department Managers.

Because of its crime, excessive homelessness problems, and bad media reputation, new businesses are not attracted to Burien. No one even wanted to bid on the mural project to promote business in Burien.

What is required is adequate funding to protect the public safety of all Burien residents and businesses. Currently, there is not sufficient police staff to do that. Burien is a city of approximately 52,000+ residents, and on any given night, during the early morning police shift there are only three or fewer officers to provide the necessary protection for 52,000+ residents and business fronts. This simply is not sufficient police staffing to do this job. As a result, Burien is one of the most crime-ridden cities per thousand residents in all of King County. I do not see how policing is to be adequately funded for this year.

Contrary to the recent graphic shown on a local media source, while crime may have gone down in King County, Burien is still a very crime-ridden city. Banning camping on Burien’s streets helped reduce some of the crime, but this city still has serious illegal drug sales problems, violent crimes near and around the Transit Center, gang activity, numerous car thefts, and has a major drug cartel distributor residing in the city.

For the above-stated reasons, I also oppose the new monies proposed for Arts and Culture and continued budget dollars to The Highline Historical Society and other Human Services grants. Burien is in financial trouble and is not appropriately reducing its 2026 Biennial Budget to meet its mandated priorities. This new Council needs to get serious about coming up with a balanced budget rather than just adding on new taxes to some of the most economically challenged residents in King County.

The 1997 Burien Comprehensive Plan warned that Burien must remain economically conservative in its spending if it was to survive. Since 2017 and on, the Council has lacked financial acumen and refused to heed the warnings of the City Managers. It is time to wake up, Council members, and make the painful but much-needed cuts, or face takeover by King County and the state into your budget and sovereignty as a city.

Respectfully,
Dr. C. Edgar

[NOTE FROM EDITOR:  If you wish to submit a story, photo, article or letter, please email us at info@thehighlinejournal.com  Even if you wish to remain anonymous, please include your name and phone number so we may contact you privately. We look forward to hearing from you.]

 

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