Bellingham City Council — Committee of the Whole

**The Regional Fire Authority Proposal** The RFA concept represents the most significant proposed structural change to Bellingham's public safety delivery system in decades. A regional fire authority is a distinct form of government entity under Washington State law, created through voter approval, that merges one or more fire departments or districts into an independent agency with its own elected board and dedicated revenue streams. The city's case for the RFA rests on two interconnected arguments: (1) the general fund cannot sustainably support fire and EMS services at current levels, let alone the expanded levels a growing city requires, and (2) state law's 1% annual cap on property tax growth structurally prevents the general fund from keeping pace with inflation and service costs. Deputy Administrator Longman presented budget data showing that the city required over $10.3 million in combined revenue and spending interventions in 2025 to avoid a deficit, with a similar amount required in 2026. Looking forward, that gap is projected to widen. The city has already made cuts to fire training academies, library hours, and street maintenance, and has redirected street fund revenue to the general fund — all measures described as unsustainable. Fire and EMS calls have increased 35% over the past decade, compared to 17% in the prior decade. Yet Bellingham's on-duty firefighting resources — five engine companies, one ladder truck, and one battalion chief — are identical to what the city had when Station 5 opened in the mid-1970s. Whatcom County Fire District 8, which historically supplemented city response with volunteer staffing of up to four engines, now covers the same area with just two career engines. The proposed RFA would be funded through two mechanisms. The first is a property tax levy of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, applied to the full assessed value of properties within the RFA boundary (city and District 8 combined). The second is a fire benefit charge (FBC), a fee based on the square footage and use type of structures — not land — on a property. Multiplier factors vary by property type: 0.5 for residential, 0.15 for mobile homes, 0.9 for multi-use residential, and escalating tiers for commercial properties depending on square footage. Exemptions exist for nonprofits and those qualifying for existing property tax exemptions. A square root scaling formula moderates the cost impact as building size increases. Sprinkler systems earn a credit. The FBC cannot exceed 60% of the RFA's operating budget, and the property tax rate is capped at $1 per $1,000. For a median Bellingham home (assessed at $600,000 with 2,900 square feet of structure), the combined annual cost would be approximately $975 — $50/month in property tax and $31/month in fire benefit charge. **Governance and Transition** If voters approve the RFA on February 9, 2027, the authority would formally be established in July 2027. A transitional board would govern the RFA initially: two council members chosen by the Council and Mayor, plus two commissioners appointed by the District 8 Board — five members total with one additional seat. The transitional board would not be identical to the six-member RFA Planning Committee currently developing the plan. Two seats would cycle off in the November 2027 election; three more in 2029; thereafter, all seats would be filled through regular elections. The timing of February approval is financially critical. Formation in Ju…

**Mayor Kim Lund** expressed strong support for the RFA concept, framing it as both a fiscal necessity and a public safety imperative. She noted the personal significance of having grown up in Bellingham and watching core fire resources remain stagnant over 50 years. Her comments were motivational and contextual rather than technical. **Deputy Administrator Forest Longman** presented in a neutral, informational capacity but made clear through the framing of fiscal data that the city views the RFA as the primary viable alternative to further service cuts. He delineated the "no RFA" scenario explicitly: reductions in BLS ambulance service, police specialty units, library hours and materials, and parks maintenance. **Fire Chief Bill Hewitt** expressed clear support for the RFA, describing it as the mechanism needed to grow the support network, improve the department's ISO insurance rating from 3 toward 2, add BLS units, eliminate cross-staffing, restore training academy staffing, and build capacity for Bellingham's growing northern service area. **Council Member Lisa Anderson** engaged the most substantivel…

**Mayor Kim Lund, on the RFA's context within the city's budget pressures:** "Our core resources for emergency and fire response are largely the same today in 2026 as they were in 1976 when I was just a small child in this community." **Deputy Administrator Forest Longman, on the city's fiscal trajectory:** "Even spending we got to last year was through over $10.3 million of interventions both on the revenue and expense side in 2025 and that expected outcome this year had a similar investment…

**Before this meeting:** The RFA Planning Committee had been working on the draft plan since April 2026, but the City Council had not formally engaged with the draft in a public forum. The plan's details — funding mechanisms, governance structure, transition timeline, and fiscal impact examples — had not been presented to council members for feedback. **After this meeting:** - Council members have been formally briefed on the draft plan's structure, funding mechanisms, and transition logistics, and their feedback is now on record for the Planning Committee to incorporate. - Council Member Anderson has put on record two specific structural concerns — property transfer safeguards an…

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