### Meeting Overview The Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee met on December 8, 2025, with committee members present to review two interlocal agreements with Whatcom County. The meeting focused on routine contract amendments for emergency services and a more contentious discussion about reducing funding for the Grace program. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Interlocal Agreement:** A contract between two or more government entities (like city and county) to share services or costs for programs that benefit multiple jurisdictions. **Advanced Life Support (ALS):** Emergency medical services that include advanced procedures like IV medications and cardiac monitoring, provided by paramedics with specialized training. **Grace Program:** Ground Level Response and Coordinated Engagement - a program that provides intensive case management for people who frequently use emergency services like police, fire, and medical response. **CPI:** Consumer Price Index - a measure of inflation used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments in contracts, which was 2.3% for this agreement. **CADB:** Community Development Advisory Board - a citizen board that makes recommendations on how to allocate certain city grant funds for human services. **General Fund:** The city's primary operating budget that funds basic services, often under budget pressure requiring difficult choices about program funding. **JPO Committee:** Jail Planning Oversight committee - a group that monitors jail costs and usage, relevant because Grace program aims to reduce jail bookings. **Justice Sales Tax:** A voter-approved tax with restricted uses for justice-related programs, though current restrictions limit how flexibly these funds can be used. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Council Member (Chair) | Committee Chair, Public Health Safety Justice Equity | | Council Member Skip Williams | Committee Member | | Council Member Michael Lilliquist | Committee Member | | Council Member Lisa Anderson | Attending in person | | Council President Holly Huffman | Attending online | | Chief Bill Huitt | Fire Department Chief | | Samuel Lutz | Housing and Services Manager, Planning Department | | Terara Dean | Community and Economic Development Manager | | Forest Longman | Deputy Administrator | | Mayor | City Mayor (present for discussion) | ### Background Context The city operates under tight budget constraints, requiring approximately $100,000 in cuts to general fund human services programs. Both agreements represent ongoing partnerships with Whatcom County that have been operating successfully for years. The Advanced Life Support agreement is routine, but the Grace program funding reduction sparked significant debate about the balance between fiscal responsibility and maintaining effective intervention programs that reduce costs elsewhere in the system. The Grace program has demonstrated high success rates (over 80%) in helping frequent emergency service users, and similar programs like LEAD show success rates in the 90s. These programs are designed to reduce more expensive services like jail stays and emergency room visits. The reduction represents about $60,000 - what some council members call "budget dust" - but reflects broader pressures on city finances. ### What Happened — The Short Version The committee quickly approved a routine 3.3% increase in reimbursement rates for Advanced Life Support services the city provides countywide. The more contentious item involved reducing the city's contribution to the Grace program from $355,000 to approximately $295,000. Staff explained this reflects actual billing patterns since the county has never billed the full contracted amount. One committee member initially opposed the reduction, citing the program's effectiveness and upcoming increases in jail costs, but ultimately voted yes after receiving assurances that service levels would not decrease and funding could be restored if needed. Both items will move forward to the full city council. ### What to Watch Next • Both agreements head to full City Council for final approval • Budget discussions continue with potential $100,000 cuts to human services programs • Monitoring of Grace program service levels and actual billing amounts • Potential future discussions about expanding intervention programs • Work with county on creating more flexibility for justice sales tax spending ---