Bellingham City Council
The Bellingham City Council convened a special meeting on the morning of October 5, 2026, for the first of three scheduled budget work sessions on the City's 2027 Preliminary Budget. The session covered internal and administrative departments — Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Information Technology, Communications, Planning and Community Development, and the Mayor's Office — under Agenda Bill 25085. No formal votes were taken; this was a deliberative work session. The overarching fiscal context dominated the meeting: the City is navigating a period of sustained budget pressure driven by rising personnel costs — particularly healthcare — against a largely fixed revenue base. The 2027 Preliminary Budget totals approximately $542.8 million, nearly identical to the prior year's $542.9 million proposed budget, a difference of roughly $100,000. Finance Director Andy Esjornson described the preliminary budget as among the most balanced he has seen, with revenues and expenditures differing by approximately $150,000. The most significant structural change in the 2027 budget is the creation of a new Central Services Fund (Fund 580), which consolidates Finance, Human Resources, the civil division of the Legal Department, and the new Communications Department out of the General Fund and into an internal service fund. This change, which mirrors a move the City made with IT several years ago, is intended to make the true cost of administrative services visible across all departments rather than burying those costs within the General Fund. The fund is projected to bring in $10.2 million, with the General Fund contributing approximately $3.25 million of that total. A second major theme was the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) ballot measure, which Mayor Kim Lund and Finance Director Esjornson identified as central to the City's fiscal future. The 2027 budget represents what the mayor called an "optimistic budget" — one that does not model a RFA failure scenario. If the RFA does no
This was an informational work session. No formal votes were taken. The following are the significant administrative and policy decisions reflected in the 2027 Preliminary Budget as presented: **1. Creation of Central Services Fund (Fund 580)** - **AB:** 25085 (budget work session) - **What it is:** Finance, HR, and the civil division of Legal are consolidated from the General Fund into a new internal service fund. The new Communications Department is also housed in this fund. - **Fund size:** $10.2 million total; General Fund contribution approximately $3.25 million. - **Prior structure:** These costs were embedded in the General Fund and charged to other funds via an internal allocation process (IAP). The change makes charges visible at the department level (fire, police, utilities, etc.). - **Council note:** Council members asked whether hearing examiner costs would remain identifiable; staff confirmed they can be pulled as a "group activity" within the non-departmental catego…
- **October 5, 2026, 1:00 PM:** Regular Committee of the Whole meeting reconvenes (same day, adjourned from this special meeting) - **October 15, 2026:** Planning Commission receives first informational presentation on residential development regulation revisions, Critical Areas Ordinance update, and Unified Development Code reform - **October 19, 2026:** Second budget work session (City Council regular meeting); Planning and Community Development Department to present code rewrite work plan informational item to City Council - **Late October 2026:** HR expects to begin reviewing candidates for healthcare strategic analysis position (second search) - **Mid-December 2026:** Target go-live for Workday human capital management system - **End of December 2026:** Temporary positions supporting Workday implementation expected to conclude - **End of November 2026:** Target hire date for healthcare strategic analysis position - **November 2026:** Planning and Community Development to appear before Growth Management Hearings Board on comprehensive plan compliance challenge - **January 2027 (anticipated):** New successor bargaining agreements for police guild, Whatcom Dispatchers Guild, IAFF Local 10 and 106, and Teamsters Local 231 expected to take effect - **January 2027:** Coast Guard veteran intern begins with Communi…