Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu lifted a government-wide hiring freeze Wednesday, Feb. 26 that he implemented in July 2024.
The July 15 executive order, initially instituted for 90 days, was intended to slow spending as the county reckoned with the sunsetting of COVID-era federal aid, stagnant sales tax revenue and rapidly increasing labor and project costs.
At that time, the county had around 1,100 authorized positions across all departments. The selective freeze, which didn’t apply to positions covered by grants or separate funds, continued through the biennial budget process in the fall of 2024 as the county sought to keep operations sustainable.
In November, a split Whatcom County Council voted 4-3 to pass a 2025–26 budget. The budget included an increase in property taxes more than the 1% allowed by state law because the council agreed to take the “banked capacity” — tax dollars the county could have taken in the past but didn’t.
Sidhu announced during a Whatcom County Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 25 that the hiring freeze would end the next day. In his executive order rescinding the freeze, Sidhu said the approved budget “prioritized maintaining core services” while “rebuilding and stabilizing” the organization.
However, Sidhu noted, contract negotiations for union-represented county employees will happen this year, and have already begun in some cases. Most departments will be required to absorb wage increases negotiated for 2026 into their adopted budget.
Collective bargaining agreements cover approximately 80% of the county workforce.
“We’re continuing to advise caution,” deputy executive Aly Pennucci added during Tuesday’s council meeting. “We want people to fill critical vacant positions to address our core services but also, because our wages for 2026 aren’t budgeted, if it’s not a critical position, having a vacancy is a really effective tool to absorb next year’s cost increases without having to cut filled positions.”
One position that has already been filled is in the executive’s office: In January, Jill Boudreau, the former mayor of Mount Vernon, was hired as senior policy and project manager. In her new role, Boudreau will support some of the county’s complex projects in the pipeline, such as the Plantation Rifle Range clean-up, the new behavioral health facility and justice center, and a budget prioritization exercise to inventory all county programs and services, which is set to begin in late spring 2025.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
