Committee of the Whole

**Fire Department Budget Challenges:** Fire Chief Hewett detailed a budget strategy focused on maintaining 911 response services while cutting non-essential functions. The department will eliminate 1.4 FTE in emergency management, including a public outreach coordinator and plans coordinator, and skip the 2026 recruit academy. These measures save approximately $162,000 directly plus additional savings through attrition of four firefighter positions. The Chief emphasized these are one-time solutions, warning that future recruitment needs and emergency preparedness capacity require long-term funding solutions. Council members expressed significant concern about reducing emergency management to a single-person operation, particularly given recent experiences with floods, the 2021 pipeline explosion, and upcoming FIFA events. The discussion revealed tension between maintaining frontline 911 services versus preparedness for low-frequency, high-impact events. **Police Department Budget Strategy:** Police Chief Mertzig reported the department has successfully filled ranks after years of vacancies but now faces budget constraints requiring frozen positions and reduced programming. The department will freeze three patrol officer positions, one public information officer position, and eliminate one records management position. Despite these cuts, the department expects to maintain current response capabilities for the 76,431 annual calls for service. The discussion focused heavily on the pr…

No public testimony was taken during this Committee of the Whole session. Staff presentations represented departmental positions on budget constraints and planning requirements.…

**Fire Chief Hewett, on emergency management cuts:** "Unfortunately, you know, that is work we should be doing, but the unfortunate realities of the budget were hard choices we need to be made." **Council Member Hammill, on emergency preparedness:** "What I'm worried about is a low frequency but high intensity of happening. And yeah, I think about the 1999 pipeline explosion that happened here. These are maybe, you know, once in a generation events, but the floods and other disasters may not …

**Emergency Management Capacity:** City moves from 2.4 FTE to 1 FTE in emergency management, eliminating public outreach and emergency planning positions. **Police Department Structure:** Three patrol officer positions and one public information officer position frozen; one records management position eliminated. **Fire Department Training:** No recrui…

### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole met on October 6, 2025, for budget work sessions on police and fire departments, a comprehensive plan overview presentation, and discussion of legislative lobbying guidance. The meeting focused heavily on the city's 2026 budget challenges and the long-term Bellingham Plan for growth management. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Budget Work Session:** Opportunity for City Council to learn details about specific department budgets before formal adoption, allowing for questions and discussion. **Committee of the Whole:** A meeting format where all council members participate in detailed review and discussion of issues before they come to formal votes. **Comprehensive Plan (Bellingham Plan):** The city's 20-year guiding plan that addresses housing, transportation, climate resilience, and growth management, required by state law to be updated every 10 years. **Urban Growth Area (UGA):** Designated boundaries where urban development is planned and supported with city services, a key tool for managing sprawl under Washington's Growth Management Act. **Growth Management Act (GMA):** Washington state legislation requiring cities and counties to develop comprehensive plans to manage population growth and reduce sprawl. **Middle Housing (HB 1110):** State legislation requiring cities to allow four-plex housing and other "missing middle" housing types in residential neighborhoods. **Emergency Management:** City function responsible for planning, response, and recovery during disasters and emergencies, including coordination with other agencies. **Legislative Lobbying Working Group:** A team of the mayor, three council members, and staff who coordinate the city's advocacy efforts with the state legislature. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kim Lund | Mayor | | Hollie Huthman | Council President, Second Ward | | 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 | Council Member, At-Large | | Andy Asbjornsen | Finance Director | | Chief Hewett | Fire Chief | | Chief Mertzig | Police Chief | | Blake Lyon | Planning & Community Development Director | | Elizabeth Erickson | Senior Planner | | Anya Gedrath | Planner | | Iris Nott | Legislative Poli…