Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee

The Whatcom County Finance and Administrative Services Committee held a brief but significant 32-minute meeting Tuesday morning, processing 12 agenda bills but postponing most major items due to new charter restrictions. The meeting's central development was the first application of recently passed charter amendment provisions that limit what budget supplementals can be approved without quarterly financial reporting compliance. The committee unanimously approved seven consent agenda items totaling over $2 million in various agreements and contracts, including collective bargaining, grants, and interlocal agreements. However, the charter amendment's impact became clear when Finance Director Randy Rydell explained that the current budget supplemental (AB-2026-145) had been dramatically reduced from its original scope because the county has not yet produced its required Q4 2025 financial report. Under the new charter section 6.4.1, when quarterly reports are more than six weeks overdue, the council can only approve appropriations for "mandatory caseload, enrollment, inflation or other legally unavoidable costs." This forced staff to pare down approximately 10 original supplemental items to just 3-4, removing projects like stormwater improvements, ferry spring lines, the Maple Falls Park roof, and senior activity center improvements. The committee postponed three major project budget ordinances (totaling millions in potential spending) to March 24th, contingent on whether the county produces its overdue Q4 report by then. Chair Scanlon noted this was the first time operating under the new charter restrictions and suggested future discussions about the process. The only controversy arose over a seemingly routine resolution to declare county-owned structures "worthless" for demolition, when Council Member Elenbaas insisted on seeing photos of the buildings before voting, leading to the item being held until pictures are provided to the public record.

**Consent Agenda (7 items) - All passed 7-0:** - AB-2026-137 (substitute): Professional and Technical Employees Local 17 collective bargaining agreement 2026-2028 - AB-2026-154: $120,000 stormwater capacity grant from WA Dept of Ecology - AB-2026-156: North Whatcom Fire and Rescue interlocal agreement extension (one year) - AB-2026-160: $251,000 WSDOT interlocal for Lakeway Drive rehabilitation design - AB-2026-162: $1.5 million Commerce Dept agreement for FEMA grant local match reimbursement - AB-2026-163: $113,600 City of Lynden interlocal for Mouw Ditch design funding - AB-2026-164: $80,000 contract amendment with Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group **Committee Discussion Items:** - AB-2026-145: Budget supplemental amended and recommended 7-0 (substitute version, $1,804,963) - AB-2026-114: Strawberry Point stormwater project budget - postponed to March 24th (7-0) - AB-2026-143: Ferndale Senior Activity Center improvements - postponed to March 24th (7-0) - AB-2026-134: Courthouse building envelope project amendment - postponed to March 24th (7-0) - AB-2026-165: Resolution declaring South Fork Park structures worthless - held until photos provided (7-0) All postponements were due to charter amendment restrictions requiring Q4 financial reporting compliance.

**Ben Elenbaas, on transparency concerns:** "I think my motion more is for public trust and transparency than not understanding what we got going on here. So, yeah, I just, if I was somebody who paid attention to what we do here in Council, and I wasn't a Council Member, I would be like, hey, why are there no pictures of these structures that are being deemed worthless?" **Randy Rydell, on charter amendment impacts:** "We took a look with the legal counsel on that and determined that of that list of probably 10 or so original supplementals that were on. We pared it down to 3 or 4 supplementals." **Chair John Scanlon, on new processes:** "This is the first time we're operating this new atmosphere with the charter amendment. And I would like to schedule discussion council." **Ben Elenbaas, on formula errors:** "When you add the beginning balance, expenditures, revenues, and then your ending balance was additions... it should add negative numbers instead of adding the entire line all the way across." **Chris Knox, on prior disclosure:** "I just wanted to reiterate that it wasn't an intent to obfuscate in any way. We just felt like we had been, this issue had been before Council previously, so I thought this was maybe a formality." **Executive Sudhu, on property history:** "Even in that original intent, it was that these will not be useful for us and they will be demolished. But we understand that you need to see the pictures and everything, but the risks are even higher if we don't do anything."

# Whatcom County Finance Committee Navigates Charter Restrictions on Budget Items What was supposed to be a routine budget supplement meeting turned into a lesson on the real-world implications of government reform. On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, the Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee found itself operating under new charter restrictions that fundamentally changed what they could approve — and what they couldn't. ## Meeting Overview The Finance Committee convened at 10:05 a.m. in Council Chambers for what Chair John Scanlon expected to be a straightforward 55-minute session. All seven council members were present: Elizabeth Boyle, Barry Buchanan, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, Jessica Rienstra, John Scanlon, and Mark Stremler. But this wasn't just any meeting — it was the first time the committee operated under new charter amendment restrictions that limited their budget authority when quarterly financial reports are late. The agenda included seven consent items that moved through without controversy, but the main business centered on a $1.8 million budget supplemental that had been dramatically pared down due to the new charter requirements. Several project budgets were postponed entirely, and one agenda item sparked an unexpected debate about government transparency. ## Budget Supplemental Stripped Down by Charter Rules The morning's most significant discussion centered on AB-2026-145, a budget supplemental ordinance originally seeking $1.8 million across multiple county projects. But this wasn't the same proposal the committee had seen before. Finance Director Randy Rydell explained the new reality: "The budget supplemental as it currently sits, it's within the new charter guidelines that are in section 6.4.1 of our county charter that says that if the executive's office has not produced the quarterly report by 6 weeks past the end of the quarter, then we are only allowed to let the council approve appropriations, which constitute mandatory caseload enrollment inflation or other legally unavoidable costs not contemplated in the current budget and which must be expended prior to the beginning of the next budget cycle." The impact was dramatic. What had started as a list of about 10 supplemental budget items was reduced to just 3 or 4. The surviving items included grant-funded projects for the sheriff's office, including rapid DNA equipment, and a ferry insurance increase driven by inflation. "All grant funded and then the 1 for the ferry fund is due to an insurance increase," Rydell explained. "And that is a increase due to inflation and it's an unavoidable legal costs that we need to legally incur." Chair Scanlon questioned the accuracy of financial documents, noting errors in previous spreadsheets. "Previous versions of these same type of spreadsheets, were we having the same issues?" he asked. Rydell acknowledged there had been problems but assured the committee the current version was correct. Council Member Ben Elenbaas pressed on this point: "My only concern would be making sure that, I mean, I'm sure that our accounting is all right, but I'm thinking like we probably need to make sure the public record's right and what's being presented to council in the public record is correct." The committee unanimously approved the substitute ordinance 7-0, but the discussion highlighted both the learning curve of operating under new rules and the importance of accurate financial reporting. ## Projects Postponed Until Compliance The charter restrictions had a cascading effect on other agenda items. Three separate ordinances establishing or amending project budgets were all postponed to the March 24th meeting, contingent on the executive's office producing the overdue quarterly financial report. These included: - A stormwater improvement project for Strawberry Point/Lake Whatcom Boulevard - The Ferndale Senior Activity Center Improvements Fund - Courthouse Building Envelope improvements Rydell was optimistic but cautious about the timeline: "March 24th is a day that I'm really trying to hit with that Q4 report. It'll be about a month earlier than it's been in the past and I'm trying to balance that quality versus timing versus available personnel to do this and I'm aiming for that March 24th." He explained that while departments wouldn't run out of budget authority, the delays could create challenges: "We will not be in lapse of, or in excess of our existing budget capacity. It's just many of departments are trying to get ahead of, make sure that they aren't spending before they get council approval on things." Chair Scanlon acknowledged the transition challenges: "Thanks for working through this, right? This is the first time we're operating this new atmosphere with the charter amendment." ## Transparency Concerns Over "Worthless" Buildings The meeting's most contentious moment came over what seemed like a routine item: declaring county-owned structures at South Fork Park as worthless so they could be demolished. The resolution would have allowed the county to tear down buildings on recently acquired property intended to become a trailhead. But Council Member Ben Elenbaas had a problem with the staff report. "I guess I would request that we not take action on this unless I missed it at some point. If we had a presentation on this item where they had pictures of the buildings, because none of our, the memo and everything, none of it has pictures. And I think that it's important to see what we're declaring as worthless." Parks Director Mike Knox tried to reassure the committee that they had seen the structures before: "This has come before Council on a number of occasions. So this is associated with the grant, the RCO grant for the Carrasco property, which was acquired in late 23. So we have in the executive session associated with the acquisition of that had shown photos of these structures." But Elenbaas wasn't satisfied. The absence of photos in the public record bothered him, both as a governance matter and an optics issue. "I guess that just makes me even more disturbed if we do have the pictures and it wasn't included in the memo. Because I think we should look at and I think the public should be able to see what we're deeming worthless." He made a motion "that we hold this until such time that those pictures are added to the public record on this AB 2026-165 packet." Council Member Mark Stremler seconded the motion, adding his own perspective: "Yeah, I just think it'd be helpful, at least for myself, you know, moving forward, not with just this project, but other ones in the future, that if there are structures that are deemed that we keep them, let's just say, that we kind of are able to, like, see the difference maybe." Knox tried to explain that the omission wasn't intentional: "I just wanted to reiterate that it wasn't an intent to obfuscate in any way. We just felt like we had been, this issue had been before Council previously, so I thought this was maybe a formality, but certainly happy to provide photos and make sure there's no perception that's ill will." But Elenbaas had a broader point about public trust: "I think my motion more is for public trust and transparency than not understanding what we got going on here. So, yeah, I just, if I was somebody who paid attention to what we do here in Council, and I wasn't a Council Member, I would be like, hey, why are there no pictures of these structures that are being deemed worthless?" Chair Scanlon tried to moderate, assuming good faith: "I just do want to state, I think there was a potential insinuation earlier about bad intent. I'm going to assume good intent here and potentially it was just an oversight that photos weren't in here." The motion to hold until pictures were provided passed 7-0. Knox indicated he could get the photos uploaded by that evening, potentially allowing the full council to consider the item at their evening meeting. ## Consent Agenda Moves Forward Despite the complications with other items, the committee's seven-item consent agenda moved smoothly. Council Member Jessica Rienstra had a brief question about one interlocal agreement that incorrectly stated it didn't require council approval — Deputy Executive clarified that "all interlocal agreements require Council approval, so it's just a staff error" — but otherwise the consent items passed without discussion. The approved items included: - A collective bargaining agreement with Professional and Technical Employees Local 17 - A $120,000 stormwater capacity grant from the state Department of Ecology - Extensions of fire investigation services with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue - A federal aid project for Lakeway Drive pavement rehabilitation - Various flood control zone district agreements totaling over $1.6 million All consent items passed 7-0. ## Closing and What's Ahead The committee wrapped up their business by 10:37 a.m., finishing 18 minutes ahead of schedule. Chair Scanlon used the extra time to coordinate with other committee chairs about starting the next committee meeting early. The meeting demonstrated both the intended and unintended consequences of government reform. The charter amendment was working as designed — preventing spending decisions when financial oversight was lacking — but it was also creating practical delays for routine county business. The transparency debate over building photos showed how easily process oversights can be perceived as intentional obfuscation, even when staff had good faith explanations. With the March 24th deadline looming for the quarterly financial report, the county faces a balancing act between rushing to meet charter requirements and maintaining the quality of financial analysis that makes those reports meaningful. As Finance Director Rydell put it, he was "trying to balance that quality versus timing versus available personnel to do this." The committee adjourned with multiple items postponed but a clearer understanding of how charter reform was reshaping their work — one budget supplemental at a time.