Search toggle
Contact toggle
Contact toggle
Search toggle
Say hello.
Focus Str. 5th Ave, 98/2 34746 Manhattan, New York
+1 222 44 55
hello@acme.com
What are you looking for?
Real Briefings

County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

WHA-CJS-2026-04-14 April 14, 2026 Public Health & Safety Committee Whatcom County 10 min
← Back to All Briefings
Apr
Month
14
Day
10
Min
Published
Status

The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a packed session focused primarily on two major items: amendments to the EMS Oversight Board structure and a comprehensive presentation on the Justice Project's next phase. The meeting represented a critical juncture in the county's multi-year effort to build new justice infrastructure while balancing community priorities for behavioral health investments. Council Member Barry Buchanan, who chairs the committee, announced he is drafting a resolution to establish a budget cap for the Justice Project that will come to council on April 28th. This resolution aims to find a "sweet spot" that accommodates capacity analysis, behavioral health needs, and the original voter commitment to a 50/50 split between incarceration and community-based services. The Justice Project discussion consumed the majority of the meeting, with presentations from multiple consultants on jail population forecasting and behavioral health facility planning. A central tension emerged around the timeline for achieving the promised 50/50 funding split, with some council members expressing concern that current projections push this commitment well beyond the original four-to-six year timeframe voters understood when they approved the sales tax in 2023. Three significant Justice Project agenda items were consolidated into a single comprehensive discussion, reflecting the interconnected nature of capacity planning, budget constraints, and operational considerations. The session highlighted the complex challenge of balancing immediate jail capacity needs against longer-term commitments to community-based behavioral health services. The meeting also addressed EMS governance, with council members ultimately supporting changes to the Emergency Medical Services Oversight Board membership structure while maintaining distinct community representation roles rather than consolidating them into broader categories.

**AB2026-308 - EMS Oversight Board Amendments** - **Action:** Approved recommendation to introduce amended ordinance (5-1-1, Rienstra opposed, Galloway absent) - **Key Change:** Retained separate positions for "community member at large" and "EMS/Fire personnel or community members who reflect diverse perspectives" - **Amendment:** Added language requiring joint appointment by county executive and mayor of Bellingham for position #10 - **Staff Recommendation vs. Council Action:** Council rejected Galloway's alternative language that would have consolid…

About 49% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
**Justice Project Budget Cap Framework** The administration presented a recommendation from the Finance and Facility Advisory Board (FAB) for a $225 million construction budget cap - $205 million for jail construction and $20 million for the behavioral care center. This recommendation emerged from updated financial modeling by PFM showing $214 million in available bonding capacity under conservative projections, with FAB recommending a slightly higher number to account for contingencies. Council Member Scanlon questioned how the county would achieve the original commitment to a 50/50 split between incarceration and community-based services, noting that current language in both the county ordinance and interlocal agreement uses somewhat soft language ("shall endeavor to" and "express shared commitment to"). Chair Buchanan indicated his upcoming resolution will attempt to get "as close to possible" to the original four-to-six year commitment. *…
About 50% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
**Council Member Ben Elenbaas** Expressed strong opposition to the 50/50 constraint, arguing it "constrains the plan" rather than focusing on outcomes. Advocated for building infrastructure needed to execute the comprehensive justice plan rather than being limited by "black and white percentages." Questioned whether behavioral health facilities would operate at capacity without legal compulsion. **Council Member Jon Scanlon** Pressed for adherence to the original voter commitment on the 50/50 split, questioning whether the county should amend interlocal language if projections push beyond the promised timeline. Supported maintaining separate EMS board positions to preserve taxpayer oversight representation. **Council Member Jessica Rienstra** Emphasized the importan…
About 50% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
**Chair Barry Buchanan, on his upcoming resolution:** "That's a big goal, yes. And taking all these other factors into consideration that we just landed on us, you know, the capacity analysis, behavioral health, find a fit that all in to find a sweet spot." **Council Member Ben Elenbaas, on the 50/50 constraint:** "All 50/50 does is focus on an outcome of constraining the plan on either side. Instead of focusing on the outcome that we want and then executing that plan in a way that we can get…
About 50% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →

**April 28, 2026:** Chair Buchanan will present his draft resolution establishing a Justice Project budget cap to the full County Council **Late April 2026:** STV programming team to complete draft jail program document incorporating all stakeholder input **Mid-to-End June 2026:** Design-build team to present operational cost estimates, blocking diagrams, and basis of design **August 2026:** Final design-build team re…

About 49% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
The Justice Project moved from open-ended scenario development to a structured programming approach with defined budget parameters. The Finance and Facility Advisory Board provided a specific $225 million construction budget recommendation, giving the design-build team concrete constraints to work within rather than continuing to develop multiple scenarios. The EMS Oversight Board structure will retain separate community representation roles rather than consolidating into broader categories, preserving distinct taxpayer oversight and specialized expertise positions. The county received detailed behavioral health…
About 50% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
# Whatcom County Criminal Justice Committee Charts Justice Project's Path Forward ## Meeting Overview On a crisp April morning in 2026, the Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee convened for what would prove to be a pivotal discussion in the county's decade-long Justice Project journey. Council Members Barry Buchanan, Ben Elenbaas, Jon Scanlon, Mark Stremler, Elizabeth Boyle, and Jessica Rienstra gathered in council chambers, with Kaylee Galloway participating remotely before departing for another commitment. The agenda, consolidated from three separate items into a comprehensive Justice Project discussion, would address the validation process, financial framework, behavioral health analysis, and jail population forecasting that would inform a critical budget cap decision. The stakes were clear: after years of planning and community engagement, the county needed to establish concrete parameters for its ambitious Justice Project, which envisions building both a new county jail and a behavioral care center while fulfilling commitments to community-based services. With sales tax revenues flowing but costs escalating, the committee would grapple with fundamental questions about capacity, funding, and the balance between incarceration and treatment. What made this meeting particularly significant was the convergence of multiple expert analyses — from jail population forecasting to behavioral health service demand — that would inform Chair Buchanan's forthcoming resolution on budget caps. The committee would hear from statisticians, architects, and policy experts who had spent months analyzing Whatcom County's unique needs and circumstances. ## EMS Board Membership Restructuring Before diving into the Justice Project discussion, the committee first addressed proposed changes to the Emergency Medical Services Oversight Board structure. Council Member Galloway, who had to leave early for another panel, presented her revised ordinance to modify the membership composition of both the EMS Oversight Board and the EMS Technical Advisory Board. The discussion revealed different approaches to community representation. The original proposal from the EMS office maintained separate positions for a general community member and specific seats for EMS/fire personnel or community members reflecting diverse perspectives. Galloway's alternative would have consolidated these into a broader category with more flexible qualifications including …
About 13% shown — sign up free to read the rest Sign up free →
### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met on April 14, 2026 to discuss amendments to the EMS Oversight Board structure and receive comprehensive presentations on the Justice Project including jail population forecasting, behavioral health analysis, and financial framework planning for the new county jail and behavioral care center. ### Key Terms and Concepts **EMS Oversight Board:** County advisory body that provides oversight and guidance for emergency medical services operations and planning. **Justice Project:** Whatcom County's multi-phase initiative to build a new county jail and behavioral care center, funded through a county-wide sales tax. **Behavioral Care Center (BCC):** Planned facility that will include a Crisis Relief Center and co-occurring mental health/substance use disorder treatment units to provide alternatives to jail for people with behavioral health needs. **Average Daily Population (ADP):** Statistical measure of how many people are in jail on any given day, used for capacity planning and operational projections. **Booking Restrictions:** Policies that limit which arrestees can be booked into jail when capacity is constrained, typically excluding lower-level offenders. **Deflection vs. Diversion:** Deflection occurs before arrest to keep people out of the justice system entirely; diversion occurs after arrest to move people out of jail into treatment or other services. **Prosecutorial Diversion:** Program allowing prosecutors to divert eligible defendants from traditional court proceedings into treatment or services instead. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Barry Buchanan | Committee Chair, County Council | | Kaylee Galloway | Council Member (remote, had to leave early) | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Jessica Rienstra | Council Member | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Elizabeth Boyle | Counc…
About 50% shown — premium members only Upgrade to premium →

Share This Briefing

Tags & Connections

Public Safety Budget & Finance Government Operations AB 2026 308 AB 2026 322 Executive Office Fab Pfm Stv Whatcom County Council Adam Johnson Barry Buchanan Ben Elenbaas Erin Persky Jed Holmes Jessica Rienstra Jon Scanlon Kayla Schott Bretslauer Kaylee Galloway Kirsten Smith Patrick Jablonski 50 50 Split Average Length Stay Behavioral Health Facility Booking Restrictions Budget Finance Co Occurring Disorders Crisis Relief Center Ems Governance Ems Oversight Board Jail Capacity Justice Project Operational Costs Population Forecast