Accountability Framework
Comp Plans: SAY vs DO
Every Washington city promises housing, transit, and climate action in its comprehensive plan.
We track what they actually discuss in public meetings — and what they fund in their budgets.
The accountability score measures how many plan policies include concrete, measurable commitments.
How the Tracker Works
Three layers of accountability — from promise to action to dollars.
Layer 1 — SAY
The Comp Plan
What the city formally adopted: goals, policies, and targets. We score each chapter on how measurable its commitments are.
Layer 2 — DISCUSS
Real Briefings
What gets talked about in public meetings — Planning Commission, City Council, and boards. Are they actually working toward plan goals?
Layer 3 — DO
Budget Tracker
Where the money actually goes. Budget line items linked to plan chapters reveal whether cities are funding their own promises.
Budget Reality Check: 2006 vs 2025
Bellingham adopted its comp plan in 2006 with 464 policies. Here's where the money actually went — in their own numbers, from their own adopted budgets.
| Department |
FY2006 |
FY2025 (Proposed) |
20-Year Change |
| Police |
$18,299,500 |
$57,328,705 |
|
| Fire |
$18,646,512 |
$53,682,827 |
|
| Parks & Recreation |
$14,092,765 |
$45,051,481 |
|
| Planning & Community Dev |
$8,616,787 |
$41,771,205 |
|
| Library |
$3,631,856 |
$8,028,761 |
|
| Museum |
$1,597,514 |
$1,739,988 |
|
| Public Works |
— |
$255,456,699 |
New |
| Human Resources |
$12,801,791 |
$30,045,874 |
|
| Finance |
$4,570,325 |
$3,920,185 |
|
| Citywide Total |
$193,190,621 |
$389,970,802 |
|
What this means: The city's overall budget nearly tripled in 20 years.
But did the departments responsible for housing, planning, and infrastructure keep pace with the promises made in the comp plan?
Compare each department's growth against the policies they were supposed to deliver.
Source: City of Bellingham Adopted Budget (2006), 2025 Preliminary Budget. All figures from city-published documents.