Budget and Finance Committee, Bellingham City Council

**A. CJTC Grant — Sustainability of Grant-Funded Positions** The central policy question raised during discussion of AB 24941 and AB 24937 was how the city would fund the positions and services enabled by this grant after it expires in June 2028. Council Member "Huffman/Huthman/Hatman" (the substituting member — name variant unclear) and Council Member Hannah Stone both pressed on this issue. The substituting member asked directly whether the grant was one-time and whether the spending was structured as one-time rather than ongoing. Deputy Chief Elmendorf explained the grant runs approximately two years and change, and framed some of the spending as ongoing staffing investments. He noted the 25% city match would come from the 0.1% public safety tax the Council enacted earlier in the year, which preceded and helped qualify the department for the grant. Finance Director India Spencer added significant context: the city's threshold for layering operating costs onto a grant is whether the grant has sufficient duration. A one-year or short grant does not justify adding ongoing operating costs; a three-year grant provides time to plan for sustainability. Spencer referenced the city's prior experience with CARES Act and ARPA funds — both of which eventually ran out, leaving operating costs without a funding source — as the cautionary backdrop for this analysis. She confirmed the RFA (Regional Fire Authority) planning process will have a major impact on future funding for police and community safety needs. The city's public safety level-of-service analysis, completed the prior year for both police and fire, informs the long-term strategy. Stone questioned specifically whether the unfreezing of positions and potential new hires was contingent on RFA outcomes — whether the city should wait for the RFA vote before adding personnel. Elmendorf indicated positions are close to allocated levels and acknowledged attrition would naturally occur given 22 officers are currently retirement-eligible. He described the grant as providing a "jump start" — new officers would be trained and on-boarded under grant funding so that if the RFA succeeds, they are ready to deploy; if it does not, the city can pivot and not fill positions after attrition removes them. The committee's consensus was appreciation for the longer-term planning framework, though the conversation highlighted the structural tension between short-term grant-funded staffing and long-term budget sustainability — a recurring challenge that COVID-era federal funds surfaced citywide. **B. DVSA Conflict of Interest and Recusal** A notable pro…

**Council Member Lisa Anderson (Chair)** Chaired the meeting and introduced each agenda item. Expressed enthusiasm for the CJTC grant, noting the unusually large and specific grant amount and commenting that she wished grant awards were sometimes rounded up. Thanked Elmendorf for the presentation. Stated she would carry both Items 1 and 2 forward to the full Council evening session. Did not comment substantively on the land use fee discussion within the available transcript. **Deputy Chief Ty Elmendorf, Bellingham Police Department** Presented the CJTC grant enthusiastically, describing it as a "celebratory time" for the department — unusual for a department that typically comes before the Budget and Finance Committee with expense requests. Explained the two-prong nature of the HB 2015 implementation: the Council's earlier 0.1% public safety tax action and the department's grant application. Described the high bar for qualifying agencies. Walked through planned expenditures in detail. Directly addressed the sustainability question by pointing to the level-of-service analysis, RFA planning, and natural attrition. **India Spencer, Finance Director** Added important fiscal policy context on the sustainability discussion. Distinguished the city's approach to grant-funded operating costs based on grant duration. Referenced CARES Act and ARPA as cautionary examples. Confirmed the RFA will play a major role in long-term public safety funding. Noted the 0.1% public safety tax has remaining allocations to support the 25% city match. **Andy Asbjornson, Finance Director** *(Note: the transcript identifies this individual as presenting Item 2; may be a second finance-departmen…

**Deputy Chief Ty Elmendorf, on the significance of the grant:** "This is a um, long-term project that the department's worked on to be in a position to apply for a grant through CJTC." **Elmendorf, on the difficulty of qualifying:** "Very few agencies have been able to receive this grant money as it's a very very high standard for certifications and to meet the qualifications that the Criminal Justice Training Commission has." **Elmendorf, on the Alternative Response Team:** "I'm really pro…

Before this meeting: - The Bellingham Police Department had received a $3,703,583 CJTC grant but lacked Council authorization for the interlocal agreement or the corresponding budget appropriation. - The Alternative Response Team had lost approximately $200,000 in funding and its continuity was uncertain. - Three patrol officer positions remained frozen in the budget with FTE authority but no dollars. - The BPD lobby was not operating 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Monday–Friday. - The land use application fee schedule had not been substantively updated since 2007. After this meeting: - The Budget and Finance Committee recommended approval of both the interlocal agreement (AB 24941) and the budget ordinance (AB 24937); both go to full Co…

--- ### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Budget and Finance Committee met on the afternoon of May 18, 2026, chaired by Council Member Lisa Anderson. The committee took up three items: a state law enforcement grant award to the Bellingham Police Department, a companion budget ordinance to implement that grant, and an introductory discussion of a potential update to the city's land use application fee schedule — which has not been significantly revised since 2007. --- ### Key Terms and Concepts **Local Law Enforcement Grant Program:** A grant program created by Washington State Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2015, administered through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC). Funds are available to local law enforcement agencies that meet high certification and qualification standards. The program was championed by Governor Bob Ferguson as a campaign promise to increase police hiring across Washington State. **Interlocal Agreement:** A formal legal contract between two or more government entities — in this case, between the City of Bellingham and the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission — authorizing the city to receive and spend the grant funds. The mayor must be authorized by the Council to sign such agreements. **FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):** A unit measuring employee workload. One FTE equals one full-time position. When the committee discussed "unfreezing" positions, it meant restoring budgetary funding to positions that had been authorized on paper but whose funding had been suspended. **Frozen Position:** A budgeted employee position that exists in the city's authorized headcount but for which no salary funding has been appropriated — meaning the position cannot be filled. Unfreezing a position means adding the money back so it can be recruited and filled. **25% City Match:** The grant requires the City of Bellingham to pay 25% of personnel costs for newly hired officers, while the grant covers the remaining 75%. This is a standard cost-sharing arrangement in grant programs. **Regional Fire Authority (RFA):** A proposal under discussion to consolidate fire and potentially other public safety services under a regional authority funded by a dedicated levy. If approved by voters, an RFA could provide a long-term funding source to sustain positions created under this grant after grant funds run out. **Land Use Application Fee:** A fee charged to developers, businesses, or property owners when they submit an application asking the city to review and approve a land use action — such as a rezone, subdivision, variance, or conditional use permit. Bellingham's current fee schedule dates to 2007. **System Development Charges (SDCs):** One-time charges assessed on new development to fund the cost of expanding utility infrastructure (water, sewer, stormwater) to serve that development. Distinguished from impact fees, which fund parks and transportation. **Impact Fee:** A one-time charge on new development to offset the cost of expanding public facilities — parks, transportation, or schools — necessitated by growth. Impact fees are legally required to have a documented "nexus" between the fee charged and the impact created by the specific project. **Cost Recovery:** The principle that the fees charged for a city service should cover the actual cost of providing that service, rather than being subsidized by the general fund or by taxpayers who are not directly using the service…