Citizens will have the opportunity to speak to Bellingham City Council members about the next city budget on Monday, Sept. 19. The council will host a town hall on funding priorities via Zoom, starting at 6 p.m.
Mayor Seth Fleetwood is finalizing his preliminary 2023–24 budget, to be presented to the council in October. The council must approve the biennial budget, including revenue projections and planned expenses, before the end of the year.
Town hall participants will be asked to give their big-picture ideas for the upcoming budget, rather than specific line items.
Bellingham’s 2021–22 budget document is 187 pages with details on dozens of funds — everything from general day-to-day operations to a streets fund, a tourism fund, Greenways funds and a low-income housing fund.
The general fund approved for 2021–22, which includes most city hall operations, the library, the municipal court, and the fire and police departments, showed $173 million in spending over the two years. Police and fire are the biggest portions of the city’s general fund, at 34% and 26% of the total, respectively. Across all departments, employee salaries and benefits make up 72% of the general fund.
The City Council is currently accepting written comments on funding priorities through the Engage Bellingham website. Instructions for joining Monday’s town hall will be posted at meetings.cob.org.
