Whatcom County officials outline steps to boost budget transparency during charter review deep dive

Whatcom County officials told the County Charter Review Commission on May 1 during a deep dive on Article 6, Financial Administration, that they are working to give the public and council earlier, clearer information about the county’s budget and spending.

The discussion came after commissioners asked how the public can find out whether collected tax or fee revenue is being spent and how to increase public participation in budget prioritization. “We are actively working on and eager to engage in” earlier engagement and clearer communication, Deputy Executive Ali Panucci said.

The exchange centered on three priorities: bringing the public into the process earlier so citizens’ priorities can shape departmental budget requests, upgrading financial and budgeting software to produce more granular public-facing reports, and improving quarterly and year-end reporting timelines.

“Timing matters,” Panucci said. “As we think about preparing the next biennial budget, departments, the executive and the council should be hearing from the community about priorities before we put the technical pieces together.”

Finance Director Randy Bridal explained where members of the public can already find spending information and how the county will expand that access. “The contracts are approved or brought through council,” Bridal said. “There are quarterly reports where you can look to specific funds. We also have an online contract database where all our active contracts are put.” He pointed to the Healthy Children’s Fund as an example of a single fund with regular reporting.

Bridal and Panucci said the county recently moved to a new financial system. “We are already seeing the benefits,” Treasurer Steve Oliver said, adding that daily cash management and investment practices returned meaningful interest income last year. Oliver told commissioners the treasurer’s office invests funds not needed for immediate obligations and that in the previous year those investments generated “an excess of ... $10,000,000 in interest income for the county,” money that flows back into county funds.

Commissioners pushed for specifics about timelines and accessibility. Commissioners asked whether year-end reconciliations could be ready in six weeks. Bridal said quarterly reports should meet that timeline with the new systems; year-end audited numbers will take longer because of audit requirements and manual closing processes.

Panucci also described plans to pilot public-facing tools such as interactive budget viewers to help residents “click around in the budget” and see spending by program, cost center and fund. “We need a new budget system too,” she said. “That’s next on the list.”

Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about supplementals and how the council can amend or remove line items in supplemental appropriations. Bridal said the council now has opportunities to discuss supplemental ordinances in committee and to amend items on a line-item basis prior to introduction.

Why it matters: County budget transparency affects what services remain funded and how decisions are made. Commissioners framed the discussion in the charter review as a question of whether charter language or implementation steps should require earlier public engagement, clearer reporting by fund and better timelines for year-end and quarterly reports.

The commission did not adopt charter language at the meeting. Instead staff and elected officials were asked to continue developing public-engagement plans and to return with options for charter drafters, and to accelerate work to make financial data easier to access online.

Quotes in context: “We first have to identify what is statutorily required at what level of service,” Panucci said, urging attention to baseline obligations before asking citizens to prioritize discretionary services. Bridal said the county maintains roughly 80 separate funds and detailed reporting for capital and special-revenue funds is already available in quarterly financial reports.

Next steps: Commissioners asked staff to return with concrete proposals on public engagement timing, options for interactive budget tools and a realistic schedule for quarterly and year-end reporting under the new financial system.