It’s probably not a stretch to consider that the City of Bainbridge Island is entering a state of renewal as a consequence of its transformation to the council-manager form of government and the city’s current financial dilemma. Besides approving the May measure by nearly 70 percent, voters elected three new council member whose campaigns emphasized the city’s need to change its focus and culture.

Since the city’s emancipation from Kitsap County some 20 years ago, Bainbridge Island, a unique blend of rural suburbia, forest and shoreline, and the quaint village of Winslow as some residents like to call it, has periodically stuggled with its ability to govern itself and its residents.

Part of the problem was a population boon that doubled the island’s numbers before peaking in the early 2000s. As a result, the city grew proportionately with the influx of people and developments. In essence, high-end real estate has become synonymous with the island and the riches the land boom created gave the city a false sense of it own worth.

Predictably, the population increase slowed to a trickle in recent years, but not before the city overcommitted itself financially to overambitious land purchases, capital projects and the various needs of a diverse population of about 23,000 people. The actions of the city’s leaders during the last 10 years were generally well-intentioned, and they couldn’t forsee the economy turning sour two years ago. Nevertheless, they were poorly positioned to deal with it when it happened.

That’s behind us now, and it’s time to fix a government that must be open more than ever to the assistance that a well-educated, active and engaged citzenry can offer. This is a special place in that way, and our new council must take full advantage of it if the city is going to rise above its current problems.

We are fortunate to have government fixers such as Lee Walton and Stan McNutt here to help guide the council as it embarks on this ambitious and prodigious endeavor. But they are just guides. Islanders themselves must decide what type of community they want. It’s time to step up and be heard.