City of Bellingham Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee

The Advanced Life Support Services discussion was brief and routine, focusing on the standard annual adjustment process for emergency medical services throughout Whatcom County. Fire Chief Bill Hewett explained this represents the continuation of a six-year agreement with yearly rate adjustments. The GRACE program amendment generated more substantive policy discussion. GRACE (Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement) provides intensive care coordination for frequent users of emergency response services, embedding case managers with Bellingham Police and Fire departments as well as Ferndale. The program consistently achieves over 80% success rates in reducing jail admissions, law enforcement responses, and emergency department visits. Council Member Hammill rais…

**Council Member Daniel Hammill** initially opposed the GRACE reduction, citing the program's high effectiveness rates and the counterintuitive nature of cutting intervention services while jail costs increase. He serves on the J-POP (jail planning oversight group) committee and advocates for expanding prevention programs. He ultimately supported the amendment after clarification about service level preservation. **Council Member Skip Williams** supported both amendments, viewing the GRACE reduction as temporary and focused on current staffing levels rather than future expansion needs. He emphasized the ability to reinstate funding if the program grows. **Counci…

**Daniel Hammill, on intervention programs:** "Given the fact that the county will be increasing the cost to the city for jail services, this seems sort of counterintuitive to, as a prevention and intervention program, which is a nominal, you know, $60,000 is what my colleague often refers to as budget dust." **Tara Sendin, on budget pressures:** "We are having to cut about $100,000 of general fund out of our human services, housing and human services, really I think it's the human services g…

The city formalized a 3.3% funding increase for county-wide emergency medical services, bringing the 2026 contribution to $13,943,642. This maintains the existing service level under the standard annual adjustment process. The city reduced its GRACE program contribution by $60,358 to $355,000 for 2026, aligning the contract with historical spending patterns while explicitly maintaining cu…

### Meeting Overview The City of Bellingham's Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee met on December 8, 2025, chaired by Councilmember Daniel Hammill with committee members Skip Williams and Michael Lilliquist. The committee reviewed and approved amendments to two interlocal agreements with Whatcom County: one for Advanced Life Support Services and another for the GRACE program. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Interlocal Agreement:** A contract between two or more local governments to share services, costs, or resources. In this case, agreements between the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County for specific programs. **Advanced Life Support Services (ALS):** Emergency medical services that include advanced procedures like IV therapy, cardiac monitoring, and medication administration. Bellingham provides these services countywide through an agreement with Whatcom County. **GRACE Program:** Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement - a program that provides intensive care coordination for individuals who frequently use emergency services, police, and hospitals to help break the cycle of crisis responses. **CPI (Consumer Price Index):** An economic measure used to calculate inflation and cost-of-living adjustments. The ALS agreement uses CPI plus 1% to determine annual reimbursement increases. **CDAB:** Community Development Advisory Board - makes recommendations on how to allocate certain city funding for human services and community development programs. **Hub and Spoke Model:** A service delivery approach where GRACE acts as the central "hub" coordinating care among various service providers (the "spokes") for complex clients. **Familiar Faces:** The term used in the GRACE program to describe individuals who frequently interact with emergency services, police, and hospitals without their underlying needs being met. **Justice Sales Tax:** A local tax dedicated to justice-related programs, which Councilmember Hammill suggested could potentially fund programs like GRACE in the future. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Daniel Hammill | Committee Chair, City Councilmember | | Skip Williams | City Councilmember | | Michael Lilliquist | City Councilmember | | Kimberley Lund | Mayor | | Holly Hoffman | Council President (joined online) | | Anderson | City Councilmember (present in person) | | Bill Hewett | Fire Department Chief | | Samya Lutz | Housing and Services Manager | | Tara S…