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Commission votes to give County Council more time and transparency in budget process
Summary
The commission approved Amendment 23 to modify the county budget development process to give council extra review time and improve public input; the motion passed 13–0 with two excused.
The Whatcom County Charter Review Commission approved proposed Amendment 23, which modifies the county’s budget development timeline to give County Council an additional month for review and public engagement before final budget decisions.
Commissioner McSturney, one of the sponsors, described the amendment as intended to “rebalance the structure of our budget cycle” so council has more time to review budget materials, gather constituent feedback and consider service requests. He noted the previous budget cycle produced hundreds of late service requests and said extra review time promotes better policy and accountability.
Commission discussion was brief and generally supportive. Commissioners said the change should create room for more constituent input and more careful deliberation on proposed service additions. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor and 2 commissioners excused.
If the change is adopted into the charter package and ultimately approved by voters, County staff and Council would follow the revised timeline in the next budget cycle to allow the additional month for deliberation and public outreach.
