Bellingham City Council Budget and Finance Committee

**Julia Burns, introducing the fee schedule changes:** "Nothing too major, hopefully, and hopefully nothing controversial, just some updates on how we charge fees." **Julia Burns, on the current late fee confusion:** "I think there's a lot of confusion about fees in general in the program. So when people are like, well, what is this fee for? And what's this fee? It just kind of makes it all the same." **Julia Burns, on the rapid late fee escalation:** "All of a sudden they wake up and they're like, wait, I have two late fees and it's only been two weeks. So just slowing that down a little bit, making it a little bit more standardized." **Blake Lyon, on the enforcement approach:** "Oftentimes that ability to license and register their units, especially if they have multiple units, is a better way of enforcing that than pursuing and trying to gain collections." **Council Member Anderson, on public perception:** "I wanted that to be shared with the public because when people here were

## Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Budget and Finance Committee convened on March 23, 2026, for a brief but substantive session focused on streamlining the city's rental registration and safety inspection program. Committee Chair Council Member Anderson presided over the meeting, joined by Council Member Hamill and Council Member Cotton, who stepped in for the absent Council Member Lilliquis. The single agenda item — an ordinance updating fee schedules for rental inspections — represented the kind of administrative refinement that keeps city programs running smoothly while serving both landlords and tenants more effectively. The meeting showcased the city's rental protection program in transition, with new staff leadership working to professionalize and standardize processes that had grown inconsistent over time. What could have been a routine administrative update revealed a program actively evolving to better serve Bellingham's rental market, with ambitious plans for enhanced transparency, consistency, and tenant engagement. ## Rental Registration Fee Schedule Modernization The centerpiece of the afternoon was an ordinance amending fee structures for the city's rental registration and safety inspection program — changes that Planning and Community Development Director Blake Lyon characterized as "refinements and enhancements" rather than major policy shifts. The proposal came from Julia Burns, the city's relatively new Rental Protection Program Specialist, making her first appearance before the committee. "Nothing too major, hopefully, and hopefully nothing controversial, just some updates on how we charge fees," Burns explained as she walked the committee through proposed changes. Her approach reflected a practical understanding of municipal fee structures — recognizing that even small administrative changes can generate public confusion if not handled carefully. The most significant change involved aligning late fees across different program components. Currently, the city charges different late fee amounts for inspections versus registrations, creating what Burns described as "a lot of confusion about fees in general in the program." Property owners struggling to understand their obligations would ask, "Well, what is this fee for? And what's this fee?" The proposed ordinance would standardize these charges, making them "more easily understood." Beyond standardization, the city proposed slowing the pace of late fee escalation from every 15 days to a more forgiving timeline that aligns with "industry standards." Burns painted a picture of property owners suddenly discovering they owed multiple penalties: "All of a sudden they wake up and they're like, wait, I have two late fees and it's only been two weeks." The rapid escalation created administrative burdens for city staff while imposing what many would consider unreasonable timelines on property owners. The ordinance also removed direct references to sending delinquent accounts to collections, instead referring to remedies "permitted under BMC" — the Bellingham Municipal Code. This seemingly minor language change reflected a more sophisticated enforcement approach that the city had developed through experience. When Council Member Hamill asked about collection methodology for persistently delinquent accounts, Burns initially stumbled through an explanation before Lyon stepped in with clarity: "We have the ability to revocate somebody's license if they're not in compliance with the program. So instead of trying to pursue and chase after a fee and go through a big protracted process, oftentimes that ability to license and register their units, especially if they have multiple units, is a better way of enforcing that than pursuing and trying to gain collections." This enforcement mechanism proved more effective than traditional debt collection, Lyon explained, because license revocation threatened property owners' ability to legally rent their units — a consequence far more serious than outstanding fees. Committee Chair Anderson emphasized this point for public understanding: "When people hear we're no longer pursuing a fine, they just think people will just brush it off, but there's bigger consequences ahead than going to collections on this." Burns stressed that late fees weren't factored into the program's financial sustainability when the 2023 fee updates were approved. "We don't collect that many late fees anyway," she noted, "and we have covered the program basics with our actual program fees rather than late fees." The city had increased inspection and missed appointment fees enough to support program operations without relying on penalty revenue. ## Program Professionalization and Consistency Beyond the immediate fee changes, Burns outlined an ambitious agenda for professionalizing the rental inspection program — work that revealed how much the city was investing in systematic improvement. The scope of ongoing projects suggested a program in significant transition from ad hoc operations to standardized protocols. "Since I've been back, we've been formalizing many of our policies and processes," Burns explained. The work included developing clear procedures for "uninhabitable units" — situations where inspectors discovered tenants living in unsafe conditions. "How do we proceed making sure that tenants are not living in unsuitable situations?" she asked, outlining the balance between enforcement and preventing displacement. The city was clarifying standards for "passed with conditions" inspections, ensuring consistency "across all both public and private inspectors" regarding what conditions warranted failure versus conditional approval. Burns described encountering "unfit sleeping areas from time to time if people are sleeping in closets or rooms without windows," requiring protocols that prioritized tenant safety without immediately displacing vulnerable renters. Perhaps most significantly, the program was developing procedures for comprehensive property inspections when patterns of deficiencies emerged. The municipal code allows inspecting "up to 100% of units if we have reason to believe that the owner's properties have a lot of deficiencies or are unsafe." Burns explained they were "developing exactly how we're going to go about doing that when we encounter those situations so that when we do, we can do it efficiently and thoroughly." Inspector audits represented another professionalization effort focused on consistency. "We want to make sure that all of our inspectors are evaluating things to the same standards as each other," Burns said. The city was developing review processes to ensure "everyone is performing to the standards with which we hope they are." The compliance process was receiving similar systematic attention. Burns reported that the city had developed "not only a process of when we'll be sending things to compliance, but also the templates for each official notice that we have to send" — work ensuring all documentation met municipal code requirements so compliance actions would "be going through without any issue." ## Community Engagement and Education The rental protection program was expanding beyond enforcement into education and community engagement. Burns described developing "a new flyer for tenants that is explaining what the rental registration and safety inspection program is and how they can engage with it" — recognizing that many renters remained unaware of their rights under the program. The city updated its "renter resources flyer" for landlords to distribute, providing tenants with "legal resources and financial resources." This approach acknowledged landlords as potential partners in connecting tenants with support services. For Fair Housing Month, the program planned a "landlord-tenant law presentation on April 23rd" that Burns hoped council members would attend. The session would "cover some of the newer regulations for landlords, tenants, because we've got a lot of feedback that there's a lot that have passed in recent years and people are a little bit overwhelmed." The city recognized that regulatory complexity required educational support. The program had already begun community outreach, including "tabling at Western Housing Fair" to raise awareness among students and families seeking rental housing. ## Technology and Transparency Initiatives Several technology projects promised to enhance program transparency and efficiency. The city was developing an online inspection checklist system that would "make it a lot more efficient for private inspectors to be able to post their results." This system would also support the consistency initiative by allowing city staff to "look at the results and see what it is that they're finding deficiencies in, and if that compares to our city inspectors." Data analysis was revealing program patterns and effectiveness. Burns described "being able to take some time to look at pass and fail rates and seeing sort of where, what patterns and themes we're seeing in the data over the last few years" — work that would inform future policy decisions. An interactive public map would allow residents to "click on different properties and see their inspection history and if they are in fact registered with the program and if they have a passing inspection." This transparency tool would help prospective tenants make informed housing decisions while creating public accountability for property owners. ## Tenant Advisory Group Burns mentioned "the tenant advisory group" as an "impending" initiative that the council would "hear more about next month." While she provided no details, the mention suggested the city was preparing to formalize tenant voice in program governance — a significant step toward collaborative policy development. ## Committee Action and Future Direction The committee's unanimous approval reflected satisfaction with both the immediate fee changes and the broader program improvements. Council Member Hamill's motion to approve passed without debate, suggesting the changes struck committee members as reasonable administrative updates rather than policy controversies. Chair Anderson's closing comments — "Wonderful to meet you directly" — acknowledged Burns's first committee appearance and the personal relationships that make municipal government function effectively. The brief exchange suggested confidence in the program's new leadership and direction. The meeting represented municipal governance at its most functional: identifying practical problems, developing systematic solutions, and implementing changes with appropriate oversight. While rental housing policy often generates heated debate, this session focused on operational improvements that serve all stakeholders better — property owners, tenants, and city staff alike. As the committee adjourned and prepared for the Committee of the Whole meeting, the rental protection program stood poised for significant expansion in both scope and sophistication, with fee structure updates serving as just one piece of a comprehensive professionalization effort.