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Whatcom County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

WHA-CON-CJS-2026-03-10 March 10, 2026 Public Health & Safety Committee Whatcom County 27 min
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The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met to receive updates on two critical justice system components: district court probation services and Justice Project finances. The meeting revealed growing pressures on both fronts, with probation caseloads increasing 7% in 2025 and construction cost inflation threatening the viability of the proposed jail and behavioral health facility at current funding levels. District Court Administrator Jake Wiebusch presented an annual update on probation services, which monitor approximately 2,100 individuals at any given time through contracts with multiple municipal courts. The department has seen consistent growth post-COVID, with increasingly complex cases requiring specialized programming the county has developed in-house to fill gaps in community services. The primary focus was Justice Project finances, with Executive staff presenting three funding scenarios ranging from $165 million to $224 million for capital construction, depending on debt levels and city contribution extensions. Current economic conditions have significantly undercut original assumptions, with sales tax growth dropping from projected 4-5% annually to just 1% in recent years, while construction costs have soared due to inflation. Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis addressed the committee on behalf of all cities, indicating potential willingness to extend financial contributions beyond the current six-year commitment, but with specific conditions including adequate jail capacity to avoid booking restrictions and efficient facility design to minimize operational costs. The cities are preparing a formal letter outlining their position. The committee faced the stark reality that original Justice Project assumptions about both revenue growth and construction costs were "pretty far off," creating pressure for difficult decisions about facility scope, debt levels, and service funding. Council members expressed varying priorities, with

**AB2026-197 - Report from District Court Probation** - Action: REPORTED (informational presentation, no formal vote) - Content: Annual update on probation services covering 2,100+ individuals across multiple jurisdictions - Key data: 7% increase in referrals in 2025, continuing post-COVID growth trend **AB2026-203 - Discussion of Justice Project finances and interlocal agreement** - Action: DISCUSSED (no formal vote, information gathering for future budget decision) - Staff …

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**District Court Probation Capacity and Innovation** Jake Wiebusch outlined how probation services have adapted to growing and increasingly complex caseloads by developing in-house programming to fill community service gaps. The department has created domestic violence treatment groups, anger management classes, and electronic monitoring programs when private providers became unavailable or inadequate. With 11 probation officers managing over 2,000 cases, caseloads average around 200 for general supervision, well above national standards, while specialized units like mental health court maintain lower ratios around 30 cases per officer. The presentation highlighted the county's resource constraints in mental health evaluations, with Wiebusch noting significant delays in court-ordered evaluations and frustration with the timeline. The department's strength lies in its staff expertise, with trained chemical dependency professionals and certified domestic violence treatment instructors among the probation officers, allowing internal solutions when community resources fall short. **Justice Project Financial Crisis and Strategic Choices** The Justice Project faces a fundamental recalibration due to economic conditions that have invalidated original planning assumptions. Sales tax revenue, projected to grow 4-5% annually, has instead grown only 1% in recent years, while construction cost inflation has dramatically increased project expenses. This economic reality has forced a complete reassessment of what can be built and how it will be funded. Executive staff presented three scenarios that demonstrate the stark tradeoffs between capital construction and ongoing services. The baseline scenario, following current interlocal agreement terms, provides $165 million for construction and $87 million for community services over 15 years. The maximum debt scenario with city extension provides $224 million for construction but only $36 million for services—a reduction of over 50%. The analysis revealed the binding constraint of the county's debt capacity and the critical importance of city contributions. Without city extension, the county could access $200 mill…
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**Jake Wiebusch (District Court Administrator):** Emphasized the increasing complexity of probation caseloads and the department's innovative responses to community service gaps. Expressed concern about delays in mental health evaluations and indicated openness to exploring other jurisdictions' incarceration prevention programs. Highlighted the value of staff expertise in maintaining service quality despite resource constraints. **Jed Holmes (Executive's Office):** Presented the financial constraints and scenarios objectively, emphasizing the risks of maximizing debt capacity given past projection errors. Focused on the mathematical realities of different funding approaches and their implications for both capital construction and ongoing services. **Kayla Schott-Bresler (Executive's Office):** Stressed the urgency of budget decisions to maintain project timeline, noting that delays cost approximately $1.5 million in buying power every two months due to inflation. Outlined the additional analyses being prepared to inform council decisions while emphasizing that budget caps must precede detailed design work. **Scott Korthuis (Lynden Mayor, representing cities):** Advocated strongly for adequate jail capacity as the foundation of effective justice policy, arguing that consequences are necessary for accountability. Expressed willingness to extend city financial contributions conditionally, contingent on no booking restrictions, efficient facility design, and inclusion of behavioral health services. Emphasized the need for rapid decision-making…
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**Jake Wiebusch, on probation department transparency:** "We are not a voluntary service. We don't always, everyone coming to us isn't thrilled to be there, and we just wanted to break down those walls and those barriers, any kind of resistance that might be there by being, again, transparent as possible." **Jed Holmes, on economic projection failures:** "Our projections were, you know, pretty far off. Two factors have been undercutting the assumptions made during that initial planning process…
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**Immediate deliverables (end of March):** - Behavioral health analysis examining service types, costs, and diversionary impact within jail and behavioral care center - Refined jail capacity analysis incorporating sheriff's office data and specialized housing requirements - Updated facility scenarios with staff recommendations for $200 million budget allocation **Early April deliverables:** - Operational cost modeling for different facility configurations - Final recommendations from project team on priorities and facility balance **Budget decision deadline:** - End of …

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**Probation services transparency:** District court probation implemented new transparency measures with posted signage explaining expectations and processes to reduce client resistance and improve engagement. **Justice Project financial assumptions:** Original revenue and cost projections officially acknowledged as "pretty far off," forcing complete recalibration of project scope and funding strategy. **City commitment conditions:** Cities moved from general support to specific conditional requirements for extended financial participation, including no booking restrictions, efficiency standards, and behavioral health inclusion. **Budge…
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## Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee convened on Tuesday morning, March 10th, 2026, in council chambers for a hybrid meeting that would prove both informative and contentious. Committee Chair Barry Buchanan led the session with all seven council members present: Elizabeth Boyle, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, Jessica Rienstra, Jon Scanlon, and Mark Stremler. The meeting's two agenda items—a routine annual report from District Court Probation and a critical discussion about Justice Project finances—would reveal the complex tensions surrounding Whatcom County's ambitious plan to build both a new jail and behavioral health center. What began as a straightforward budget discussion evolved into a passionate debate about incarceration philosophy, community safety, and how to balance accountability with rehabilitation in a time of fiscal constraints. The stakes could not be higher: with construction costs soaring due to inflation and sales tax revenue falling short of projections, the county faces difficult decisions about how much to spend on what may be the largest public works project in its history. ## District Court Probation Annual Report Jake Wiebusch, administrator with District Court and Probation, opened the meeting with his department's annual update, delivering a comprehensive overview of an operation that quietly serves as a cornerstone of the county's criminal justice system. Speaking confidently from prepared remarks, Wiebusch painted a picture of a department managing increasing complexity with limited resources. "We receive all court referred clients, adult clients, both pretrial and post conviction for misdemeanor charges out of district court, out of the cities of Bellingham, Blaine, Everson, Linden, and Sue Mass municipal courts," Wiebusch explained, noting the department's 25-plus-year relationships with these jurisdictions. The numbers he presented were striking: approximately 2,100 individuals under monitoring at any given time, with 1,700 on active supervision and the remainder on record-checks-only status having completed their conditions. The department's growth trajectory concerned Wiebusch. "We've continued coming out of COVID. We're seeing at least a 5% increase on referrals. Last year, I reported about a 10% increase from the year prior, and we're continuing to see that grow. This last year for 2025, we saw an additional 7%." More troubling, he noted, was the increasing…
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### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met on March 10, 2026, to receive an annual report from District Court Probation and discuss critical financial and policy decisions regarding the Justice Project—the county's planned new jail and behavioral health center that will cost between $165-224 million. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Justice Project:** Whatcom County's plan to build a new jail and behavioral health center to replace aging facilities, funded by a public safety sales tax approved by voters. **Interlocal Agreement (ILA):** A contract between Whatcom County and seven cities (Bellingham, Lynden, Blaine, Everson, Ferndale, Sumas, and Sumas) that defines how much each jurisdiction contributes to the Justice Project and for how long. **Booking Restrictions:** Policies that limit jail admissions when capacity is reached, often meaning law enforcement must release arrestees who would otherwise be held. **Behavioral Health Center:** A planned treatment facility that would provide mental health and substance abuse services as an alternative to incarceration for some individuals. **Deferred Prosecution:** A legal option allowing certain defendants to receive treatment instead of going to trial, typically used for DUI and domestic violence cases. **District Court Probation:** County department that monitors about 2,100 individuals on pretrial release or post-conviction supervision, primarily for DUI and domestic violence cases. **Work Center:** An existing county facility that could potentially be used as temporary jail capacity while planning the new facility. **Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF):** A community group focused on reducing jail population through diversion programs and community-based services. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Barry Buchanan | Committee Chair | | Elizabeth Boyle | Council Member | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Kaylee Galloway | Council Member | | Jessica Rienstra | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Jake Wiebusch | District Court Administrator | | Jed Holmes | County Executive's Office | | Kayla Schott-Bresler | County Executive's Office | | Scott Korthuis | Mayor of Lynden, representing small cities | ### Background Context Whatcom County…
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Public Safety Budget & Finance Government Operations AB 2026 197 AB 2026 203 City Of Bellingham City Of Lynden District Court Probation Small Cities Whatcom County Executive Barry Buchanan Ben Elenbaas Elizabeth Boyle Jake Wiebusch Jed Holmes Jessica Rienstra Jon Scanlon Kayla Schott Bresler Kaylee Galloway Mark Stremler Scott Korthuis Behavioral Health Booking Restrictions Budget Finance Construction Costs Debt Service Diversion Programs Grant Funding Interlocal Agreements Jail Capacity Jail Capacity Analysis Justice Project Probation Services Recidivism Sales Tax Revenue Work Center