### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Committee of the Whole met on November 18, 2024, primarily to review and approve budget-related items for 2025. The committee unanimously approved five ordinances and resolutions, including the 2025 budget adoption with total expenditures of $548,998,077. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Committee of the Whole:** A committee consisting of all seven city council members that reviews major policy items before they go to the full council for final vote. **Interlocal Agreement:** A contract between government agencies (in this case, the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County) to share costs and resources for services like paramedic training. **Interim Housing Use:** Temporary shelter facilities for people experiencing homelessness that can operate with modified building code requirements for up to five years. **Environmental Remediation Fund:** A special city fund dedicated to cleaning up contaminated sites like the Cornwall Avenue Landfill and R.G. Haley site. **Solid Waste Utility Tax:** A tax imposed on garbage collection companies that is passed through to customers on their monthly bills. **Investment Income Allocation:** The practice of directing interest earned on city investments to specific funds, with this ordinance directing most to the General Fund. **Executive Session:** A closed meeting where council discusses confidential matters like potential lawsuits, property acquisitions, and labor negotiations. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Daniel Hammill | Council President, Committee Chair | | Hannah Stone | Council Member, First Ward | | Edwin H. "Skip" Williams | Council Member, Fourth Ward | | Lisa Anderson | Council Member, Fifth Ward (remote) | | Jace Cotton | Council Member, At-Large | | Dave Pethick | Assistant Fire Chief | | Sara Ullman | Planner II | | Andy Asbjornsen | Finance Director | | Eric Johnson | Budget and Treasury Manager | ### Background Context This meeting represented the final committee review of Bellingham's 2025 budget before full council adoption. The budget process began in September 2024 with multiple work sessions and public hearings. Key financial challenges driving these decisions include major environmental cleanup obligations from court-ordered consent decrees for contaminated sites that will cost tens of millions of dollars. The solid waste tax increase and investment income changes are designed to help fund these remediation projects while maintaining city services. The committee also addressed immediate housing needs by approving a building code exemption for the YWCA shelter, reflecting the city's ongoing response to homelessness. The paramedic training agreement continues regional collaboration for emergency services. ### What Happened — The Short Version The committee unanimously approved five items: an interlocal agreement for $1.14 million in paramedic training costs shared with Whatcom County; a five-year building code exemption for YWCA's new women and children's shelter at 315 Lakeway Drive; an increase in the solid waste utility tax from 11.5% to 17.25% (costing residents about $2.50 more per month) to fund environmental cleanup; an ordinance directing most investment income to the General Fund; and the complete 2025 budget with $392 million in operating expenses and $157 million in capital expenses. Council President Hammill also reported on his recent activities, including visiting the county jail's library services and testifying before the state Supreme Court about public defender funding. ### What to Watch Next • Full City Council vote on these five items at the evening meeting on November 18, 2024 • Implementation of the solid waste tax increase beginning February 1, 2025 • YWCA shelter opening at 315 Lakeway Drive serving up to 20 women and children • Start of environmental remediation work at Cornwall Landfill and R.G. Haley sites in 2025 ---