City government in Washington (state) facts for kids
Washington state has 281 local communities, called municipalities. These include cities and towns. State laws decide what each of these communities can do.
Different Kinds of Cities
Cities and towns in Washington are grouped into different types, or "classes." This helps explain how they are set up and what rules they follow. There are five main classes:
- 10 first class cities
- 9 second class cities
- 69 towns
- 1 unclassified city
- 192 code cities
First class cities are large cities. They had over 10,000 people when they set up their government. These cities can make their own special rules, like a local constitution. They can do many things allowed by state laws. Some examples are Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver, and Yakima.
Second class cities are smaller than first class cities. They had over 1,500 people when they set up their government. These cities do not have their own special rules like first class cities. But they can still do many things allowed by state laws. Examples include Port Orchard, Wapato, and Colville.
Towns are the smallest type of community. They had under 1,500 people when they were set up. Towns cannot make their own special rules. Like other cities, they follow state laws for what they can do. Some towns are Steilacoom, Friday Harbor, Eatonville, and Waterville. Since 1994, a community needs at least 1,500 people to become an official town or city.
Unclassified cities are very rare. There is only one in Washington: Waitsburg. This city in Walla Walla County still uses its original rules from 1881. That was eight years before Washington became a state!
Code cities are the most common type of city in Washington. State lawmakers created this class to give cities the most power to make their own decisions. Many cities have chosen to become code cities. These include Renton, Bellevue, Omak, Olympia, Longview, Pullman, and University Place.
Code cities can do almost anything unless a state law or the state constitution says they cannot. They can also do anything that other city classes are allowed to do.
How Cities are Governed
Besides their class, cities and towns in Washington also have different ways of running their government. There are three main forms:
- Commission (No cities currently use this)
- Mayor–council (228 cities)
- Council–manager (53 cities)
- Commission
- The city of Shelton used to have a commission government. In this system, three people ran the city. But in 2017, the people of Shelton voted to change to a Council-Manager government instead. So, no cities in Washington use the commission form anymore.
- Mayor-council
- Most cities in Washington use the mayor-council form of government. In this system, voters choose a mayor and a city council. The mayor is the head of the city, and the council makes laws. Big cities like Seattle, Spokane, Kent, Everett, Bremerton, and Bellingham use this form.
- Council-manager
- In a council-manager government, voters choose a city council. The council then hires a city manager to run the day-to-day operations of the city. The city manager is like a CEO for the city. Cities like Yakima, Vancouver, Tacoma, Bellevue, Pasco, and Kennewick use this system.
Some code cities with over 10,000 people can even create their own unique government plan. They can choose any plan that works best for their city. However, as of 2012, no code city has chosen a completely different type of government.
