### Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole met on July 8, 2025, to discuss four agenda items including water utility franchises, the mid-biennium budget review, and updates on the county's five-year homeless housing plan. Council Chair Kaylee Galloway led the hybrid meeting with all seven councilmembers present. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Franchise Agreement:** Legal contract allowing water utilities to use county rights-of-way for service provision, typically lasting 25 years. **Mid-Biennium Review:** Mid-point assessment of the two-year budget cycle to incorporate new costs and adjust spending without increasing overall expense levels. **Point in Time Count:** Annual snapshot count of homeless individuals conducted nationwide in January, used to track homelessness trends. **GEMT (Ground Emergency Medical Transportation):** Federal reimbursement program for ambulance services that provides fluctuating revenue to the EMS fund. **Rapid Rehousing:** Housing assistance program that helps people exit homelessness quickly and return to permanent housing. **Performance Indicators:** Specific metrics used to measure success of programs, such as percentage of households exiting to permanent housing. **Inventory of Services:** Comprehensive listing of all county services categorizing them as mandatory (required by law) or discretionary. **AMI (Area Median Income):** Benchmark used to determine affordable housing eligibility, often expressed in percentages (30% AMI, 60% AMI, etc.). ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Kaylee Galloway | Council Chair | | Tyler Byrd | Council Member District 1 | | Barry Buchanan | Council Member | | Todd Donovan | Council Member | | Ben Elenbaas | Council Member | | Jon Scanlon | Council Member | | Mark Stremler | Council Member | | Aly Pennucci | Deputy County Executive | | Satpal Sidhu | County Executive | | Kayla Schott-Bresler | Deputy Executive | | Andrew Hester | Public Works Department | | Janie Oliphant | Health and Community Services | | Chris D'Onofrio | Health and Community Services | | Ann Beck | Health and Community Services | ### Background Context Whatcom County is implementing a new, more transparent budget process during a period of financial constraint. The county faces structural budget challenges where costs are outpacing revenue growth, requiring careful balancing of spending priorities. County Executive Satpal Sidhu emphasized that the county is in a "stagnant state" with little revenue growth, making budget decisions particularly challenging. Simultaneously, the county is updating its five-year homeless housing plan, which guides how approximately $18 million annually is spent on housing programs. This planning process involves extensive community engagement and performance measurement to determine effectiveness of interventions. The budget review revealed potential shortfalls requiring $6.7 million in offsetting reductions across all funds if all department requests were approved, with the general fund potentially needing $4.9 million in cuts. ### What Happened — The Short Version **Water Franchises:** Council briefly reviewed two franchise agreements for water associations to use county rights-of-way, both scheduled for public hearing in August. **Budget Review:** Deputy Executive Aly Pennucci presented the most comprehensive budget review process in years, requiring departments to inventory all services as mandatory or discretionary. The analysis shows potential need for significant reductions unless new revenue is found. Council members praised the transparency but expressed concerns about EMS funding uncertainty. **Housing Plan Update:** Housing staff presented progress on the five-year homeless housing plan, featuring 41 strategies across seven objectives. Community engagement showed strong support for maintaining current programs while adding new initiatives like tiny home villages and developer support services. Performance indicators will track success rather than relying solely on point-in-time counts. ### What to Watch Next - August 6 meeting: Council will review supplemental budget requests before submission deadline - August meeting: Public hearings on water franchise agreements - September: Public budget process open house planned - October 13-20: Executive's formal budget transmission to Council - November: Five-year housing plan returns for final approval ---