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Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole

BEL-CON-CTW-2025-11-03 November 03, 2025 Committee of the Whole City of Bellingham
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Bellingham's City Council held a comprehensive budget work session followed by committee business, approving $429,000 in budget corrections while grappling with ongoing fiscal challenges and rising service demands. The meeting began with approval of a substantial budget errata memo that revealed significant oversights in the 2026 budget process, including a $266,000 double-counting error in Parks & Recreation's fleet budget and multiple position classification corrections across departments. The Municipal Court's presentation dominated the budget discussion, highlighting dramatic increases in criminal filings—particularly DUIs with "astronomically high" blood alcohol levels and repeat offenders—that are driving up supervision costs by approximately 20% annually. Court officials reported having 823 individuals under supervision as of October, up from 696 at the year's beginning, with the successful but over-capacity community court program serving 20+ participants when originally capped at 10-15. The Council voted to freeze a $105,000 legislative assistant position to help balance the 2026 budget, while Mayor Lund's office outlined strategic priorities including fiscal stability efforts, the upcoming $5 million courthouse renovation, and implementation of new technology systems to modernize city operations. The afternoon session moved efficiently through routine business, approving interlocal agreements, impact fee schedules, the property tax levy, and the 2026 meeting calendar. Staff emphasized that while the $429,000 budget increase seems substantial, it represents less than half a percent of the city's $125 million revenue stream, though officials acknowledged the concerning trend of continuing budget pressures across departments.

**Budget Errata and Corrections (AB 24712):** Approved 7-0. Added $429,000 net to the general fund to correct various oversights including museum COLA ($10,150), municipal court supplies ($62,500), Parks & Recreation fleet double-counting correction ($266,400 net add), and Fire Department emergency services revenue ($100,000). Staff recommendation aligned with Council action. **Legislative Assistant Position Freeze:** Approved 7-0. Froze unfilled $105,000 legislative assistant position for 2026, removing budget authority while preserving the FTE for potential future restoration when budget conditions improve. **Probation Services Interlocal Agreement (AB 24713):** Approved 7-0. Renewed annual agreement with Whatcom County District Court for probation services, with costs increasing approximat…

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**Municipal Court Capacity and Community Court Expansion:** Court officials presented alarming trends in criminal filings, particularly a surge in high-level DUI cases with repeat offenders showing blood alcohol levels three times the legal limit. The community court program, launched as a prosecutorial diversion alternative when the city re-criminalized public drug use, has exceeded capacity at 20+ participants versus the planned 10-15 maximum. Judge Deborah Lev indicated they may need to move from bi-weekly to weekly sessions, but face limitations with only two courtrooms and judicial officers. The court is creating a virtual courtroom to free up physical space and adding a second judicial officer position that will increase state funding by $22,000 annually. Probation costs are skyrocketing as more defendants require supervision rather than detention, with the city serving 823 individuals compared to 696 at year's start. **Budget Process Improvements and Fiscal Stability:** The $429,000 budget correction memo reflected systemic challenges in budget preparation, with errors ranging from missed contr…
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**Municipal Court Leadership:** Judge Deborah Lev and Court Director Tami Bennett advocated for expanded capacity through virtual courtrooms and additional judicial positions, emphasizing their goal of treatment over punishment in community court. They stressed the program's success in connecting participants with services but acknowledged they cannot continue to add people without additional resources. **Mayor's Office:** Mayor Lund emphasized fiscal discipline while maintaining commitments to racial equity, climate action, and downtown revitalization. Deputy Administrators Keller and Longman focused on operational improvements and warned that current public safety budgets may not be sustainable l…
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**Deputy Administrator Longman, on budget corrections:** "This is pretty much every budget cycle. You see one of these memos. These are just, you know, after building the budget, and going through everything, as discussions continue, just things that got slipped through or missed along the way, or have changed in the interim." **Judge Deborah Lev, on DUI trends:** "We have had more .2 and above. So almost three times a little limit like routinely. So those people on a second, third lifetime o…
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**November 30, 2025:** Deadline to transmit property tax levy ordinance to Whatcom County. **December 2025:** Rollout of new electronic agenda process and improved council packet system. **January 5, 2026:** Combined reorganization meeting and first regular council meeting due to space constraints. **2026:** Major updates to school district and city impact fees to align with middle housing policies and state legislation. **2026:** Municipal court virtual courtroom impleme…

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**Budget Authority:** $429,000 added to general fund through corrections, bringing total adjustments needed after initial budget adoption. City now carries forward budget pressures requiring continued position management and service level analysis. **Staffing Strategy:** Legislative assistant position officially frozen rather than simply unfilled, removing $105,000 budget authority while preserving FTE for potential restoration. This represents a shift toward formal position management during budget constraints. **Court Operations:** Municipal court received $62,500 in previously overlooked funding while planning major capacity expansion through virtual courtrooms and second judicial offic…
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# Committee of the Whole Meeting - Budget Season Decisions and Routine Business The Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole convened on November 3, 2025, for a budget work session and afternoon business meeting. All seven council members were present for the nearly two-hour session that mixed budget deliberations with routine municipal business. ## Meeting Overview The meeting split between a budget work session in the Mayor's Boardroom and regular committee business in Council Chambers after lunch. The budget work session consumed most of the morning, featuring presentations from Municipal Court, the City Council office, and the Mayor's office about their 2026 budget proposals and work plans. The afternoon included routine items like contract renewals and calendar setting, plus brief old/new business. ## Budget Corrections and Adjustments The meeting began with Finance Deputy Administrator Forrest Longman presenting the inevitable budget corrections memo — what he called "pretty much every budget cycle" housekeeping. The changes totaled $429,000 in net additions to the general fund, the most significant being a $266,400 Fleet Fund double-counting error in Parks & Recreation. "These are just, you know, after building the budget and going through everything, as discussions continue, just things that got slipped through or missed along the way, or have changed in the interim," Longman explained. The corrections covered departments from the Museum (a missed 2.7% cost-of-living adjustme…
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### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Committee of the Whole met on November 3, 2025, with all seven council members present for a budget work session focused on three departmental budgets: Municipal Court, City Council Office, and Mayor's Office. The meeting also addressed routine administrative items including property taxes and the 2026 meeting calendar. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Committee of the Whole (COTW):** A special meeting format where all council members sit as a single committee to review detailed information, ask questions, and make preliminary decisions before formal votes at evening council meetings. **Community Court:** A specialized therapeutic court program started in 2024 as a prosecutorial diversion for drug-related charges, offering treatment and rehabilitation services rather than traditional prosecution. Currently serves 20+ participants but is at capacity. **Frozen Position:** A budgeted staff position that is temporarily suspended (unfunded) but retained as an FTE on paper, making it easier to restore when budget conditions improve compared to permanently eliminated positions. **Errata and Corrections Memo:** A standard budget document that appears each cycle to address errors, omissions, or changes discovered after the initial budget was prepared, requiring council approval to integrate into the final budget. **Impact Fees:** Charges paid by developers to help fund infrastructure improvements needed to serve new development, such as schools, roads, or utilities. The Bellingham School District collects these fees through the city. **Property Tax Levy:** The annual ordinance setting how much the city will collect in property taxes, limited by state law to a maximum 1% increase per year. For 2026, Bellingham is taking a 0.96% increase. **One City Initiative:** The mayor's office approach to coordinating work across city departments rather than operating in silos, including streamlined processes and better public communication. **Alternative Response Team:** A program that sends behavioral health professionals rather than police to certain mental health crisis calls, representing the city's investment in alternative public safety approaches. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Hollie Huthman | Council President, Committee Chair | | Hannah Stone | Council Member, First Ward | | Daniel Hammill | Council Member, Third Ward | | Edwin "Skip" Williams | Council Member, Fourth Ward | | Lisa Anderson | Council Member, Fifth Ward | | Michael Lilliquist | Council Member, Sixth Ward | | Jace Cotton | At-Large Council Member | | Kimberley Lund | Mayor | | Judge De…
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Budget & Finance Public Safety Government Operations AB 24711 AB 24712 AB 24713 AB 24714 AB 24719 Bellingham School District Didgwalic Mobile Unit First Baptist Church Mayors Office Municipal Court Parks Recreation Whatcom County District Court Daniel Hammill Deborah Lev Edwin Williams Forrest Longman Hannah Stone Hollie Huthman Jace Cotton Jackie Weller Janice Keller Kimberley Lund Lisa Anderson Melissa Baker Michael Lilliquist Tami Bennett Behavioral Health Budget Corrections Budget Finance Community Court Courthouse Renovation Dui Enforcement Fiscal Stability Impact Fees Municipal Court Position Management Probation Services Property Tax Levy Public Safety Technology Modernization