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Real Briefings

City Council

BEL-CON-SPC-2024-10-14 October 14, 2024 Committee of the Whole City of Bellingham 27 min
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The Bellingham City Council held a special meeting on October 14, 2024, focusing entirely on state ballot measures and city budget planning. In a strong show of opposition to four Washington State initiatives, the Council unanimously passed three resolutions and approved a fourth with one abstention, all encouraging Bellingham residents to vote "no" on ballot measures that would impact local climate, education funding, and social services. The meeting featured contentious public testimony, with all speakers opposing the Council's positions, highlighting significant community division over these state-level policies. Following the initiative hearings, the Council conducted budget work sessions with five city departments, reviewing 2025 budget proposals totaling $543 million. The Information Technology Department showcased remarkable achievements, including their rapid response to the global CrowdStrike outage that had most city systems back online within hours while major corporations remained down for days. Budget discussions revealed ongoing financial pressures, with several departments freezing positions while investing in critical infrastructure upgrades and employee training. The meeting demonstrated the Council's commitment to climate action and social equity through their initiative positions, while the budget sessions highlighted the operational excellence of city departments despite constrained resources. The stark contrast between public testimony opposing the Council's initiative positions and the Council's unanimous support for three of the four measures suggests significant political divides in the community ahead of the November 5, 2024 election.

**Initiative 2066 (Natural Gas Services):** Passed Resolution 2024-25 unanimously (7-0) opposing the initiative that would repeal laws promoting electrification. Council argued this would undermine Bellingham's Climate Action Plan and preempt local authority to discourage natural gas use. **Initiative 2109 (Capital Gains Tax Repeal):** Passed Resolution 2024-26 unanimously (7-0) opposing repeal of the 7% capital gains tax on sales over $250,000. Council emphasized this tax funds K-12 education and represents one of Washington's few progressive taxes. **Initiative 2117 (Climate Commitment Act Repeal):** Passed Resolution 2024-27 unanimously (7-0) opposing repeal of the state's cap-and-invest program. Council noted Bellingham has received ov…

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**Climate Action Alignment:** The Council's opposition to initiatives 2066 and 2117 reflects deep commitment to Bellingham's 2050 carbon neutrality goal. Council Member Lilliquist explained that Initiative 2066 would create "a gag order" on Puget Sound Energy, preventing them from educating customers about energy efficiency alternatives. He characterized the initiative as "saying no to the no to the no" due to its complex structure opposing existing policies that don't actually ban natural gas but provide transition pathways. Council Member Williams emphasized the initiatives would undermine years of local climate planning work. **Economic Justice and Education Funding:** Discussion of Initiative 2109 revealed the Council's focus on tax equity. Council Member Anderson detailed how the capital gains tax affects only the wealthiest 1% of Washingtonians while funding critical education needs. The Council emphasized that before this tax, Washington had the most regressive tax system in the nation, and repealing it would likely require more regressive funding mechanisms. Several Council members with education b…
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**Cynthia Ripka** (appeared for all four hearings): Consistently opposed all Council positions, citing constitutional concerns and economic hardship for rural families. As a former nurse and VFW member, she emphasized personal freedom and choice, describing families struggling with energy costs and feeling "forced" by government mandates. She questioned the Council's authority to take positions on state initiatives. **Ashley Buttenschon** (Initiatives 2066, 2124): Argued against natural gas restrictions, citing Seattle Times editorial support for keeping natural gas options. On WA Cares, she emphasized the initiative provides choice rather than eliminating the program, allowing both opt-out and opt-back-in flexibility. She invited Council members to attend a "gas station event" near Western Washington University to hear from struggling students and families. **Nancy Button** (Initiative 2109): Focused on the initiative process itself, expressin…
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**Council Member Lilliquist, on Initiative 2066:** "This is a kind of a triple negative. We're asking people to vote no on an initiative which says no to things, but those things aren't actually Nos on their own. There actually is no ban on natural gas." **Council Member Anderson, on the capital gains tax:** "Before the tax passage, our state had the most unfair tax code in the nation. Our poorest Washingtonians pay nearly six times as much as their income and state and local taxes as the wea…
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**November 5, 2024:** Election Day for all four state initiatives, with Bellingham voters deciding whether to follow the Council's recommendations to vote "no" on all measures. **October 21, 2024:** Next budget work session scheduled, continuing departmental presentations for the 2025 preliminary budget. **October 29, 2024:** Exit conference scheduled for the city's fiscal year 2023 financial and federal audit, with Council members receiving…

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**Council Formally Opposed All Four State Initiatives:** Before this meeting, the Council had not taken official positions on the November ballot measures. Now they have formally encouraged Bellingham residents to vote "no" on all four initiatives affecting natural gas regulation, capital gains taxation, climate commitment funding, and long-term care insurance. **Budget Planning Advanced:** The 2025 preliminary budget review progressed with five departments presenting detailed plans, bringing the Council closer…
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# Bellingham City Council Takes Stand Against State Initiatives and Reviews 2025 Budgets October 14, 2024, was a significant day for Bellingham's city government as the City Council convened for a special meeting that would see them take collective positions on four contentious state ballot initiatives and conduct extensive budget work sessions. The meeting, held at City Hall, brought together all seven council members to address issues that would impact everything from natural gas regulations to long-term care insurance, alongside detailed reviews of departmental budgets for the coming year. Council President Daniel Hammill opened the meeting at 10 a.m., noting the dual nature of the agenda: four public hearings on state initiatives followed by budget work sessions that would require a venue change to the mayor's boardroom. Council Member Hannah Stone, who had proposed all four initiative resolutions, took the lead in explaining the council's reasoning for taking public positions on these statewide measures. ## The Natural Gas Debate: Initiative 2066 The morning's first order of business centered on Initiative 2066, which concerns regulating energy services, including natural gas and electrification. As Stone explained to the chamber, if passed, this initiative would "repeal and prohibit certain laws and regulations that discourage natural gas use and or promote electrification and require certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers." The public hearing drew two speakers, both urging the council to take no action on opposing the initiative. Cynthia Ripka, speaking first, shared personal anecdotes about energy costs and emphasized choice as a constitutional right. "I believe that we can have good clean energy and we can work on that CO2," she said, noting her background as a nurse and her family's involvement in emergency services. "I am a creation science person, so I look at CO2 different, but you know what it was feeling forced that they're just so tired and overspent." Ashley Buttenschön followed with more pointed policy arguments, warning about economic impacts on restaurants and homeowners. "Many local restaurants rely on natural gas for cooking. Switching to electric could not only be costly, but could also negatively affect their operations," she argued. She cited the Seattle Times editorial board's recommendation to…
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### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council held a special meeting on October 14, 2024, consisting of four public hearings on state initiatives and a budget work session. Council voted unanimously (with one abstention) to oppose all four state initiatives and received department budget presentations for 2025. ### Key Terms and Concepts **RCW 42.17A.555:** State law that allows local governments to hold public hearings and take collective positions on ballot measures, ensuring approximately equal time for opposing viewpoints. **Initiative Process:** A state constitutional process allowing citizens to propose laws or constitutional amendments by gathering signatures from registered voters. **Carbon Trading/Cap-and-Invest:** A market-based system where companies must buy credits to emit carbon, generating revenue for environmental programs while reducing overall emissions. **Capital Gains Tax:** A 7% tax on the sale of long-term capital assets for individuals with gains over $250,000, with revenue dedicated to education funding. **WA Cares Fund:** Washington's first-in-the-nation state-operated long-term care insurance program funded through payroll deductions. **Budget Work Session:** Council meetings where department heads present their proposed budgets, achievements, and work plans for the coming year. **Claims and Litigation Fund:** City's self-insurance fund covering legal costs and settlements, with additional commercial insurance for larger claims. **Human Capital Management System:** New HR and payroll software system replacing outdated technology to improve data management and employee services. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Daniel Hammill | Council President | | Hannah Stone | Council Member (proposed the resolutions) | | Kimberley Lund | Mayor | | Don Burdick | Information Technology Services Director | | Alan Marriner | City A…
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Environmental Budget & Finance Government Operations INITIATIVE 2066 INITIATIVE 2109 INITIATIVE 2117 INITIATIVE 2124 American Legion Bellingham Technical College Puget Sound Energy Seattle Times Vfw Whatcom Community College Initiative 2066 Initiative 2109 Initiative 2117 Initiative 2124 Alan Marriner Ashley Buttenschon Cynthia Ripka Daniel Hammill Don Burdick Hannah Stone Hollie Huthman Jace Cotton Kim Lund Lisa Anderson Michael Lilliquist Skip Williams Affordable Housing Behavioral Health Budget Finance Capital Gains Tax Climate Action Governance Administration Housing Affordable Long Term Care Natural Gas Public Safety