City of Bellingham Committee of the Whole

**Deputy Administrator Forrest Longman, on public safety funding sustainability:** "Basically all this is to say that our public safety costs are unsustainable and we need a revenue solution or otherwise we will have to continue to reduce services throughout the city." **Council Member Anderson, explaining her abstention on the RFA planning committee:** "I'm not against it. I'm not necessarily enthusiastic for it. I just feel that one more meeting would've given us an opportunity to have some of the information that you say is available could have come back." **Senior Assistant City Attorney Sarah Chaplin, on the growth in public records requests:** "In 2016, the city received 1,200 public records requests approximately. And last year, the city received almost 5,000 public records requests." **Deputy City Clerk Kelly Getz, on the operational logic of the transition:** "Records management is really the how to we respond to public disclosure. And if we have a strong records governance

# Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole convened on March 23, 2026, at 2:40 PM in City Council Chambers, with Chair Hannah Stone presiding. Six council members were present, with Councilmember Michael Lilliquist excused but still maintaining more than a quorum. The afternoon session addressed three substantive agenda items: the appointment of a new public records officer, an update on digital accessibility compliance efforts, and a comprehensive presentation on public safety staffing needs that would ultimately lead to a significant policy decision. The meeting was notable for its progression from routine administrative business to weighty financial and governance decisions. What began with straightforward personnel changes and technical compliance updates culminated in council voting to explore forming a Regional Fire Authority—a decision that could fundamentally reshape how Bellingham delivers fire and emergency medical services while freeing up millions in general fund dollars. ## Public Records Officer Transition The first item addressed the city's transition of public records responsibilities from the city attorney's office to the city clerk's office. Senior Assistant City Attorney Sarah Chaplin explained the rationale behind the change, highlighting the dramatic increase in public records requests—from approximately 1,200 in 2016 to nearly 5,000 in 2025. "The number of public records requests has increased significantly year to year," Chaplin noted. "And also, the way that we search for public records requests has changed a lot due to changes in technology, changes in where records are stored." What once involved searching filing cabinets now requires navigating email systems, cloud storage, and databases—work requiring different expertise than legal analysis. Deputy City Clerk Kelly Getz presented their team's preparation for taking on this role, emphasizing how the clerk's office, as the city's records management experts, was well-suited for the transition. "Records management is really the how to we respond to public disclosure," Getz explained. "And if we have a strong records governance here at the city, we'll do a better job and our public disclosure responses." The transition includes hiring a new position approved in the 2025 budget and involves three key staff members: Evan Reynolds as records and information analyst, Rhiannon Finster as records and public disclosure coordinator, and Sabrina Gibbons as mail services technician. Councilmember Williams praised the comprehensive presentation: "This was a very enlightening presentation. I didn't know that you did all that work or that your team did all that." He moved to approve Kelly Getz's appointment as public records officer, with Mayor Strickland expressing appreciation for the team's "dedication, their professionalism and even their passions about thinking about the city's records." The appointment passed unanimously 6-0. ## Digital Accessibility Compliance Challenge Communications and Community Relations Director Melissa Morin and ADA Coordinator Holly Peterson presented an extensive update on the city's efforts to comply with new federal accessibility standards. The Department of Justice's April 2024 final rule requires jurisdictions over 50,000 population to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards by April 2026—just one month away at the time of this meeting. The scope is comprehensive, covering all publicly available digital platforms: the citywide website, social media, mobile applications, third-party platforms like SeeClickFix and eTrackIt, and all audio and video content including live council meetings. Peterson detailed their comprehensive audit: "We pulled everything that we could, including all of the third-party apps, our mobile apps, looking at all of our PDFs that we have online, which at that point it was over 9,000 PDF forums." The PDF challenge proved particularly daunting. Using traditional remediation tools like Equidox, Peterson found that making a single document accessible could take 9 hours of staff time. "If you multiply that by 9000 PDFs, that's a lot of hours for staff to make accessible PDFs," she observed. An 800-page council packet could require 40 hours of focused staff work to remediate. The breakthrough came with DocAccess, an AI-driven tool that provides accessible transcripts alongside existing PDFs. A cost comparison showed the stark difference: staff remediation of 16 test documents cost $1,100 in staff time, while DocAccess cost just $134. "We were all quite stunned at how what great job it did, including for some of those complex charts and graphs and images, providing a really well explained version," Morin said of the AI tool's performance. The city plans a one-year test of DocAccess while continuing to use manual remediation for high-sensitivity documents like legal materials and public safety information. Video and audio content presents ongoing challenges, particularly audio descriptions for visual content. Current platforms like YouTube and social media don't yet provide adequate tools to meet the standards, though Morin expressed optimism: "There's that same expectation that platforms like Meta and YouTube are going to kind of come up to where a lot of our other third-party vendors have been." Councilmember Anderson, drawing on professional experience with accessibility compliance, asked about color-coding in charts and graphs. Peterson confirmed they're developing best practices guidance to address colorblind accessibility through patterns and identifying text rather than relying solely on color. When Councilmember Anderson asked about compliance enforcement, Peterson explained the complaint process would mirror existing ADA procedures, with issues coming to her office for resolution with affected departments. ## Public Safety Funding Crisis and Regional Fire Authority Decision The afternoon's most consequential discussion centered on Deputy Administrator Forrest Longman's presentation of the public safety level of service needs assessment—a comprehensive evaluation revealing the unsustainable trajectory of public safety costs and service demands. The numbers were stark. Fire and EMS calls increased 35% over ten years, from 15,000 to 24,000 calls, with 75% being medical calls that are "typically longer and more complicated." The cross-staffed model—where three firefighters run both an engine and ambulance—has reached its limits. Fire department response metrics painted a concerning picture. Unit availability, which should target 90-92% for optimal response times, showed most stations well below that threshold. Compliance with response time targets hit only 67% for fire and EMS calls within city limits. "If you're in an emergency, you would, you would hope that they're hitting their, their response time targets," Longman noted. The financial implications are severe. Even maintaining current service levels would require an additional $3 million in general fund support by 2027, with revenues unable to keep pace. "Basically all this is to say that our public safety costs are unsustainable and we need a revenue solution or otherwise we will have to continue to reduce services throughout the city," Longman stated bluntly. Fire department recommendations were sorted into three tiers, with Tier 1 critical needs alone requiring nearly $22 million over ten years on top of the current $60 million annual budget. These include adding a second battalion chief, finishing the "uncrossing" of units to separate fire and ambulance crews, and expanding training capabilities. Police department challenges were equally significant, with 53,000 calls for service in 2024 leaving little time for proactive policing. At most times, just 2 supervisors and 6-7 officers patrol the entire city. Response times averaged over seven minutes even for Priority 1 calls like domestic violence and injury collisions. Using International Association of Police Chiefs staffing models, the assessment found the department needs 150 commissioned staff versus the current 130—a gap of 20 officers across patrol and investigative functions. The police recommendations offered three scenarios over ten years, from a "foundational readiness" model adding 1.3 officers annually to a "comprehensive impact" model adding 3.2 officers yearly. Even the most ambitious scenario required more manageable annual increases compared to fire department needs. Additional public safety pressures compound the challenge. Supreme Court changes to public defense standards will double current $1 million annual costs to $2 million by 2028 and $4 million by 2035. Jail costs increased 25% in 2026, with further increases expected when the new Justice Center opens. Longman presented four potential funding mechanisms: ambulance utility, fire benefit charge, property tax levy, and regional fire authority (RFA). He recommended the RFA as the only truly sustainable long-term solution. "We believe even if we went in one of the other options, the way our fire expenses have been escalating over recent years... we think ultimately we would pursue an RFA anyways," he explained. A Regional Fire Authority would create an independent taxing district for fire and EMS services, freeing up approximately $24 million in general fund capacity. This would allow addressing other public safety needs while reducing the city's direct exposure to escalating fire costs. The advantages include permanent funding, partnership opportunities with other fire districts, and transparent cost accountability. Challenges include reduced city control over fire services and the effort required to establish the authority. Longman noted that council had previously explored an RFA in 2017, meaning much groundwork already exists. The timeline would involve forming a planning committee with Fire District 8, developing a service plan by December, and targeting a spring 2027 election to enable 2028 tax revenues. The discussion revealed council members' mixed levels of comfort with moving forward immediately. Councilmember Anderson expressed concerns about insufficient comparative financial information: "I would like to know the financial aspect of the Regional Fire Authority, what does that look like for, should it pass? What does that taxation look like for the average homeowner of a 2,000 square foot house versus... Walmart." She worried about the process prejudging outcomes: "My fear is we're gonna take a pathway and again, research and data is going to be presented in a way to support a desired conclusion." Councilmember Hamill acknowledged similar questions but emphasized timing constraints: "Given that this planning committee would have to meet and evaluate these kinds of questions and go through a process to provide counsel broader information, I think it's time to start that committee to do that research." Mayor Strickland provided historical context, noting that the 2017 effort concluded differently when the city's financial picture improved: "Many more cities have moved in this direction in the state because of the durability, and it fixes the structural imbalance of those costs that we were looking at." Fire Chief Williams confirmed that Fire District 8 had been preliminarily consulted and expressed interest in participating, though official action would be required at their next meeting. After discussion, Councilmember Hamill moved to form an RFA planning committee with District 8, with Councilmember Cotton seconding. The motion intentionally avoided naming specific city representatives, reserving that decision for when Councilmember Lilliquist could participate. The vote was 5-0 with one abstention. Councilmember Anderson explained her abstention: "I'm not against it. I'm not necessarily enthusiastic for it. I just feel that one more meeting would've given us an opportunity to have some of the information that you say is available." ## I-5 Landslide Response In new business, Public Works Director Joel Funt provided an update on the city's response to the I-5 landslide closure between North Lake Samish and Old Fairhaven Parkway interchanges. The closure, affecting northbound traffic, forced 50,000 daily vehicles onto local streets. "It is difficult for us to absorb 50,000 cars a day onto our local system," Funt acknowledged. The city made immediate signal timing adjustments at the Samish Way interchange—the natural detour point—and continued monitoring impact areas including Chuckanut Drive and 12th Street through Fairhaven. Additional adjustments were made over the weekend and Monday morning. Funt asked for community patience and flexibility in travel choices, noting that while the city would continue optimizing traffic flow, the volume overwhelms local infrastructure capacity. ## Closing and What's Ahead The meeting concluded with council entering executive session for potential litigation discussions, expected to last approximately 35 minutes. The session would return at roughly 4:20 PM. The day's decisions set significant processes in motion. The public records transition positions the city clerk's office as a central resource for information management and access. The digital accessibility project races toward April compliance while testing new AI-assisted tools that could transform document accessibility citywide. Most significantly, the Regional Fire Authority planning committee represents a potential fundamental shift in how Bellingham delivers essential services. If successful, it could solve persistent structural budget challenges while maintaining or improving service levels. The committee's work over the coming months will determine whether this decades-old governance model offers a path forward for sustainable public safety funding. The meeting exemplified the complex intersection of technological change, regulatory compliance, fiscal pressures, and governance decisions that define modern municipal leadership. From managing the practical challenges of making thousands of PDFs accessible to contemplating the creation of new governmental entities, council grappled with both immediate operational needs and long-term strategic choices that will shape Bellingham's future.