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Real Briefings

Bellingham City Council Budget and Finance Committee

BEL-CON-BFC-2026-03-23 March 23, 2026 Budget & Finance Committee City of Bellingham 15 min
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The Bellingham City Council Budget and Finance Committee held a brief afternoon session to consider updates to the fee schedule for the city's rental registration and safety inspection program. The committee unanimously approved an ordinance that streamlines billing practices and aligns late fee structures to reduce public confusion and administrative burden. The proposed changes represent administrative refinements rather than major policy shifts, following two years of experience operating under the enhanced program approved by council in 2023. Staff emphasized that the changes focus on making the fee structure more practical and understandable while maintaining program effectiveness. Julia Burns, the city's new Rental Protection Program Specialist, presented the updates alongside Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon. The changes include aligning late fees for inspections and registrations, extending the timeframe for late fee accruals from every 15 days to industry standards, and removing direct references to collections in favor of license revocation procedures allowed under the Bellingham Municipal Code. The committee also received an overview of ongoing program improvements, including policy formalization, enhanced inspector consistency measures, public outreach efforts, and the development of an interactive property inspection map for public use. A tenant advisory group is expected to be established in the coming month.

- **Ordinance amending rental registration and safety inspection fee schedule** - **APPROVED unanimously** by Budget and Finance Committee - Staff recommendation: Approve the ordinance - Council action: Approved unanimously (Anderson, Hamill, Cotton voting yes) - Changes late f…

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The primary discussion centered on administrative improvements to the rental registration and safety inspection program's fee structure. Staff explained that after operating under the 2023 program updates for several years, they identified areas where billing could be simplified and made more consistent. Burns detailed four main changes: aligning late fees between inspections and registrations to eliminate confusion, extending the late fee accrual timeline from every 15 days to match industry standards, removing direct collections references in favor of BMC-authorized remedies, and clarifying which charges apply per unit versus per license. The most significant policy discussion involved the enforcement mechanism change. Rather than pursuing collections for unpaid fees, staff now relies on license revocation authority under the Bellingham Municipal Code. Ly…
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**Council Member Anderson (Chair)** supported the changes as sensible updates that would reduce public confusion while maintaining program effectiveness. **Council Member Hamill** moved to approve the ordinance and praised staff for the thoughtful updates, particularly appreciating the clarification of enforcement mechanisms. **Council Member Cotton** participated as substitute committee member but made no recorded statements during the discuss…
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**Julia Burns, introducing the fee schedule changes:** "Nothing too major, hopefully, and hopefully nothing controversial, just some updates on how we charge fees." **Julia Burns, on the current late fee confusion:** "I think there's a lot of confusion about fees in general in the program. So when people are like, well, what is this fee for? And what's this fee? It just kind of makes it all the same." **Julia Burns, on the rapid late fee escalation:** "All of a sudden they wake up and they'r…
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The ordinance will advance to full City Council for final consideration at an upcoming meeting. Staff will continue work on several program improvements including policy formalization, inspector audit procedures, and code changes to enhance certification posting. A landlord-tenant law presentation is scheduled for April 23rd to help property owners understand recent regulatory changes. The pre…

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The rental registration and safety inspection program's fee structure will be streamlined with aligned late fees for both inspections and registrations, replacing the previous different amounts that caused public confusion. Late fee accrual periods will be extended from every 15 days to longer intervals matching industry standards, reducing the rapid escalation that caught property owners off-guard. The program's enforcement mechanism shifts f…
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## Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Budget and Finance Committee convened on March 23, 2026, for a brief but substantive session focused on streamlining the city's rental registration and safety inspection program. Committee Chair Council Member Anderson presided over the meeting, joined by Council Member Hamill and Council Member Cotton, who stepped in for the absent Council Member Lilliquis. The single agenda item — an ordinance updating fee schedules for rental inspections — represented the kind of administrative refinement that keeps city programs running smoothly while serving both landlords and tenants more effectively. The meeting showcased the city's rental protection program in transition, with new staff leadership working to professionalize and standardize processes that had grown inconsistent over time. What could have been a routine administrative update revealed a program actively evolving to better serve Bellingham's rental market, with ambitious plans for enhanced transparency, consistency, and tenant engagement. ## Rental Registration Fee Schedule Modernization The centerpiece of the afternoon was an ordinance amending fee structures for the city's rental registration and safety inspection program — changes that Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon characterized as "refinements and enhancements" rather than major policy shifts. The proposal came from Julia Burns, the city's relatively new Rental Protection Program Specialist, making her first appearance before the committee. "Nothing too major, hopefully, and hopefully nothing controversial, just some updates on how we charge fees," Burns expla…
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Budget & Finance Housing Government Operations Budget Finance Committee Planning Community Development Rental Protection Program Ben Hamill Blake Lyon Cotton Julia Burns Lisa Anderson Budget Finance Code Enforcement Permitting Fees Rental Housing Tenant Protections