### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met on April 14, 2026 to discuss amendments to the EMS Oversight Board structure and receive comprehensive presentations on the Justice Project including jail population forecasting, behavioral health analysis, and financial framework planning for the new county jail and behavioral care center. ### Key Terms and Concepts **EMS Oversight Board:** County advisory body that provides oversight and guidance for emergency medical services operations and planning. **Justice Project:** Whatcom County's multi-phase initiative to build a new county jail and behavioral care center, funded through a county-wide sales tax. **Behavioral Care Center (BCC):** Planned facility that will include a Crisis Relief Center and co-occurring mental health/substance use disorder treatment units to provide alternatives to jail for people with behavioral health needs. **Average Daily Population (ADP):** Statistical measure of how many people are in jail on any given day, used for capacity planning and operational projections. **Booking Restrictions:** Policies that limit which arrestees can be booked into jail when capacity is constrained, typically excluding lower-level offenders. **Deflection vs. Diversion:** Deflection occurs before arrest to keep people out of the justice system entirely; diversion occurs after arrest to move people out of jail into treatment or other services. **Prosecutorial Diversion:** Program allowing prosecutors to divert eligible defendants from traditional court proceedings into treatment or services instead. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Barry Buchanan | Committee Chair, County Council | | Kaylee Galloway | Council Member (remote, had to leave early) | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Jessica Rienstra | Council Member | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Elizabeth Boyle | Council Member (remote) | | Kayla Schott-Bressler | Deputy Executive, Whatcom County | | Adam Johnson | Project Director, STV | | Erin Persky | Behavioral Health Consultant | | Patrick Jablonski | Statistician, Jail Population Forecasting | ### Background Context Whatcom County voters approved a sales tax in 2023 to fund the Justice Project, which includes building a new county jail and behavioral care center. The existing jail is over 40 years old and lacks capacity and modern design features. The project aims to balance traditional jail capacity with innovative behavioral health alternatives to reduce recidivism and provide appropriate treatment for people with mental health and substance use disorders. The committee has been wrestling with budget constraints and ensuring the project delivers on promises to dedicate at least 50% of ongoing tax revenue to community-based services rather than incarceration. ### What Happened — The Short Version The committee first approved changes to the EMS Oversight Board structure, keeping separate positions for community members and specialized personnel rather than consolidating them. The main event was comprehensive presentations on the Justice Project. Consultants presented jail population forecasts showing need for 604 beds by 2050 under current policies, behavioral health analysis recommending a 22-space Crisis Relief Center and 32-bed treatment facility, and financial analysis recommending a $255 million budget cap. Council members expressed concerns about ensuring adequate community services funding and questioned whether the proposed jail size truly eliminates booking restrictions long-term. ### What to Watch Next - Council resolution on Justice Project budget cap coming April 28, 2026 - Ongoing negotiations with cities on extending their financial contributions through 2035 - State legislative action needed to fund Crisis Relief Center operations - Final jail programming and operational cost estimates due summer 2026 ---