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Whatcom County Council Special Committee of the Whole

WHA-CON-CTW-SPC-2025-07-29 July 29, 2025 Committee of the Whole Whatcom County
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Whatcom County Council held a comprehensive workshop-style meeting to review and provide policy guidance on the Healthy Children's Fund implementation plan for years 2025-2026. The fund, established through voter-approved Ordinance 2022-045, has generated approximately $11 million in fund balance after 28 months of operations, with 37 active contracts totaling $7.9 million currently in place. The meeting featured extensive interactive discussion between council members and implementation staff about 10 strategic funding areas, ranging from capital projects for childcare expansion to mental health workforce development. A key tension emerged around prioritizing childcare slot creation versus broader support services, with several council members emphasizing that voters primarily expected increased childcare capacity when they approved the levy. Staff presented proposed funding allocation changes for 2025-2026, suggesting an increase from 62% to 68% for early learning and care programs, while slightly decreasing vulnerable children support from 29% to 23%. Council members participated in a dot-voting prioritization exercise, with capital projects for childcare expansion receiving the most support across districts. The discussion revealed ongoing challenges around program scope, with clarification that the ordinance does not explicitly restrict spending to children under five years old, contrary to common public perception. Several council members advocated for more focused strategies and clearer language around childcare slot creation as the primary goal.

**AB2025-545 - Healthy Children's Fund Implementation Plan Discussion:** DISCUSSED (no formal vote) - **Staff Recommendation:** Review draft implementation plan for years 2025-2026 - **Council Action:** Provided policy feedback through interactive workshop format -…

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**Implementation Plan Strategy Review:** Staff presented 10 strategies spanning early learning/childcare (strategies 1-6) and vulnerable children support (strategies 7-10). Council members questioned overlap between strategies and whether the current approach was too diffuse. Several members advocated for consolidating strategies to focus more directly on childcare slot creation. **Age Restrictions and Program Scope:** A significant policy discussion emerged around whether the fund should be explicitly restricted to children ages 0-5. Staff clarified that while kindergarten readiness is the stated goal, the ordinance does not contain age restrictions. Counc…
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**Executive Office Staff (Jill Boudreau):** Emphasized process improvement, advocating for earlier council engagement in plan development rather than presenting fully-formed proposals. Supported flexible implementation allowing adaptation based on community readiness and project quality. **Implementation Team (Sarah Simpson):** Defended current multi-strategy approach, explaining that childcare expansion requires coordinated investments in workforce, capital, and support services. Highlighted successful drop-in childcare program creating 192 monthly slots across the county. **Council Member Byrd:**…
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**Sarah Simpson, on implementation readiness:** "I would hate for us to be rushed and make decisions with community resources that aren't most effectively spent." **Council Member Byrd, on strategy focus:** "The only strategy on here that actually increases child care slots is small capital projects. And there's other strategies that could be... My feeling is that's the number one, by far, most important thing I hear from people. More child care slots." **Council Member Donovan, on fund bala…
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- **Fall 2025:** Formal adoption of revised implementation plan by council - **August 2025:** Child and Family Wellbeing Task Force meeting (Council Member Scanlon unable to attend) - **December 2025:** Independent audit completion scheduled - **Wednesday, July 30:** Capital projects RFP release ($7.6 millio…

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**Council Engagement Process:** Shifted from staff-developed proposals to collaborative development with early council input in plan formulation. **Strategy Prioritization:** Clear council preference emerged for capital projects and direct childcare slot creation over broader support services, with potential consolidation of 10 strategies into fewer, more focused areas. **Administrative Flexibility:** Discussion opened regarding whether current implementati…
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## Meeting Overview On a summer Tuesday morning, July 29, 2025, the Whatcom County Council convened a special Committee of the Whole session that would prove to be one of their most interactive and policy-focused meetings of the year. All seven council members gathered in hybrid format at 9:02 a.m., with Chair Kaylee Galloway presiding, for a deep dive into the Healthy Children's Fund implementation plan—the county's ambitious $20 million levy program aimed at expanding childcare and supporting vulnerable children. This wasn't a routine presentation. Jill Boudreau from the Executive's Office and Sarah Simpson from Health and Community Services had designed an unusually engaging session complete with sticky dot prioritization exercises, policy discussions, and frank conversations about whether the county was moving fast enough to spend voter-approved funds. What emerged over the next 83 minutes was a revealing window into both the successes and tensions surrounding one of Whatcom County's most significant social investments. The meeting's significance lay not just in the fund's size, but in its timing: two and a half years into implementation, with $11 million still sitting in reserves, council members were grappling with fundamental questions about pace, priorities, and whether their approach matched voter expectations. ## The Ordinance Framework and Spending Rules Before diving into strategies and priorities, Boudreau made a point that would resurface throughout the meeting: the ordinance establishing the Healthy Children's Fund was "very prescriptive" about how money could be spent. Using a detailed graphic handout, she walked council through the exact legal language that governs every dollar. "I just felt it was important to go through this, because sometimes when things come, maybe before Council's sort of maybe contract adoption, there might be questions on, well, how does this fit in? And why are we doing this work?" Boudreau explained. The framework divides funding into strict categories: 55-68% must go t…
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### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council met as a Special Committee of the Whole on July 29, 2025, to discuss the Healthy Children's Fund implementation plan for years 3 and 4 (2025-2026). This was an interactive session where county staff presented funding strategies and council members provided policy direction on priorities and allocations for the voter-approved levy that funds early learning and childcare programs. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Implementation Plan:** The detailed roadmap outlining how Healthy Children's Fund dollars will be spent over two-year periods, including specific strategies, funding allocations, and expected outcomes. **Vulnerable Children:** Children experiencing homelessness, abuse, neglect, or other at-risk situations. The ordinance requires 20-36% of levy funds support this population, though no specific definition exists in the ordinance. **Early Learning Hubs:** Regional centers providing shared administrative services, co-located childcare and support services, and assistance for smaller providers across the county. **Capital Projects:** Building construction, renovation, or repurposing to create new childcare slots, funded through specific RFPs. **Drop-in Childcare:** Flexible care services allowing parents to book short-term childcare online for job interviews, errands, or other needs. **Fund Balance:** Accumulated levy revenue not yet spent, currently projected at $11 million by end of 2025. **RFP:** Request for Proposals - the process used to award contracts for specific services or projects. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kaylee Galloway | Council Chair, District 2 | | Jill Boudreau | Senior Policy & Project Manager, Executive's Office | | Sarah Simpson | Child & Family Programs Supervisor, Health & Community Services | | Ann Beck | Community Health & Human Services Manager | | Barry Buchanan | Council Member, District 1 | | Tyler Byrd | Council Member, District 1 | | Todd Donovan | Council Member, District 2 | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member, District 5 | | Jon Scanlon | Council …
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Social Services Budget & Finance Government Operations Jill Boudreau Sarah Simpson Tyler Byrd Todd Donovan Kaylee Galloway Jon Scanlon Healthy Children Fund Early Childhood Education Childcare Policy