Editing Granite Falls, Washington (section)

==Government and politics==
[[File:New city hall - Granite Falls, WA.jpg|thumb|right|The [[city hall]] of Granite Falls, opened in 2019]]

Granite Falls is a non-charter [[City government in Washington (state)|code city]] with a [[Council–manager government|council–manager]] system of government.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 2015 |title=Chapter 1.12: Noncharter Code City |url=https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/GraniteFalls/html/GraniteFalls01/GraniteFalls0112.html |work=Granite Falls Municipal Code |publisher=City of Granite Falls |via=Code Publishing Company |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> The five members of the [[city council]] are elected [[at-large]] to four-year terms in staggered odd years. The city council serves as the city's legislative body and selects a ceremonial [[mayor]] from its members to manage meetings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bray |first=Kari |date=January 8, 2016 |title=Granite Falls council picks mayor, hands daily work to manager |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/granite-falls-council-picks-mayor-hands-daily-work-to-manager/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> The daily operations of the city government are overseen by the [[city manager]], who is appointed by the city council.<ref name="Audit">{{cite web |date=October 22, 2018 |title=Accountability Audit Report: City of Granite Falls |page=6 |url=https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1022369&isFinding=false&sp=false |publisher=[[Washington State Auditor]] |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> Granite Falls switched from a "strong" [[mayor–council government]] in 2015 and hired former city administrator and public works director Brent Kirk as its first city manager.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bray |first=Kari |date=December 18, 2015 |title=Forget electing a mayor, Granite Falls hires new city manager |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/forget-electing-a-mayor-granite-falls-hires-new-city-manager/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref>

The city government had nine full-time employees and an annual budget of $5.2&nbsp;million in 2017.<ref name="Audit"/> Municipal services include [[public safety]], [[public utilities|utilities]], street maintenance, and managing [[park]]s and recreational activities.<ref name="Audit"/> Granite Falls has contracted with the [[Snohomish County Sheriff's Office]] to provide policing services for the area since 2014, when the city's [[police department]] was disbanded.<ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Rikki |date=March 3, 2014 |title=County deputies patrolling Granite Falls as police force disbanded |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/county-deputies-patrolling-granite-falls-as-police-force-disbanded/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 29, 2020}}</ref> [[Firefighting]] services are provided by Snohomish County Fire District 17, which covers {{convert|38|sqmi|sqkm}} of Granite Falls and surrounding unincorporated areas.<ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Rikki |date=June 16, 2014 |title=Granite Falls fire district considering medical services levy |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/granite-falls-fire-district-considering-medical-services-levy/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 29, 2020}}</ref> The Granite Falls [[city hall]] is located on South Granite Avenue in downtown at a {{convert|7,600|sqft|sqm|adj=mid}} building that opened in August 2019. It cost $3.9&nbsp;million to construct, using loans and reserve funds, and replaced a smaller building across the street that had [[accessibility]] issues.<ref name="Herald-CityHall">{{cite news |last=Davey |first=Stephanie |date=August 21, 2019 |title=After a decade of planning, Granite Falls has new City Hall |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/after-a-decade-of-planning-granite-falls-has-new-city-hall/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref>

At the federal level, Granite Falls is part of the [[Washington's 8th congressional district|8th congressional district]], which encompasses the eastern portions of the Snohomish, [[King County, Washington|King]], and [[Pierce County, Washington|Pierce]] counties as well as the entirety of [[Chelan County, Washington|Chelan]] and [[Kittitas County, Washington|Kittitas]] counties.<ref>{{cite map |author=Census Bureau Geography Division |year=2023 |title=118th Congress of the United States: Washington – Congressional District 8 |scale=1:368,000 |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST53/CD118_WA08.pdf |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=January 15, 2024}}</ref> The city was part of the [[Washington's 1st congressional district|1st congressional district]] until 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cornfield |first=Jerry |date=October 25, 2022 |title=Snohomish County in middle of key battle for control of U.S. House |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-in-middle-of-key-battle-for-control-of-u-s-house/ |work=The Everett Herald |accessdate=January 15, 2024}}</ref> At the state level, Granite Falls shares the [[Washington's 39th legislative district|39th legislative district]] with Lake Stevens, [[Darrington, Washington|Darrington]], and eastern [[Skagit County, Washington|Skagit County]].<ref>{{cite map |author=Washington State Redistricting Commission |date=July 15, 2022 |title=Legislative District 39 |page=40 |work=District Maps Booklet 2022 |url=https://leg.wa.gov/LIC/Documents/Maps/Redistricting%20Map%20Booklet_2022.pdf |publisher=Washington State Legislative Information Center |accessdate=January 15, 2024}}</ref> The city lies in the [[Snohomish County Council]]'s 1st district, which includes most of the county north of Everett and Lake Stevens.<ref>{{cite map |date=May 12, 2022 |title=Snohomish County: County Council Districts |url=https://snohomishcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/99589/County-Council-Districts-PDF |publisher=Snohomish County Elections |accessdate=January 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Haglund |first=Noah |date=August 2, 2017 |title=Nehring and Low lead their respective County Council races |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/nehring-and-low-lead-their-respective-county-council-races/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref>