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Council reviews public-safety needs assessment; forms RFA planning committee to study funding
Summary
City staff presented a public safety level-of-service assessment showing rising calls and staffing shortfalls in fire and police services. Council voted to form a planning committee with Fire District 8 to study a regional fire authority and other funding options; the committee’s work will inform a potential early‑2027 election.
The Bellingham Committee of the Whole reviewed a comprehensive public‑safety level‑of‑service assessment and voted to form a planning committee with Fire District 8 to study creating a regional fire authority (RFA) and other funding options.
Deputy Administrator Forest Longman presented the assessment, which found steep growth in demand for emergency services. "From 2015 to 2025, the fire service saw a 35% increase in calls — from about 15,000 to 24,000 — and roughly 75% of those are medical calls," Longman said. Staff said the fire department’s cross‑staffed model (where crews staff both engines and ambulances) has reached its limits, reducing unit availability and response performance compared with a 90–92% availability benchmark.
The assessment groups fire recommendations into three tiers (critical, improvement, optimal). Tier‑one measures include adding a second battalion chief, uncrossing crews so engine and ambulance crews are separate, restoring training staff, and adding support positions. Staff costed tier‑one items and estimated that fully implementing those elements over a 10‑year schedule could add roughly $21–22 million on top of the department’s current ~$60 million budget.
On the police side, staff reported about 53,000 calls for service in 2024 and said patrol often operates with two supervisors and six to seven officers—constraints that limit proactive work. Using an International Association of Chiefs of Police–style staffing model, the assessment suggested raising commissioned staff from about 130 to 150 over time, with phased scenarios ranging from minimal adjustments to a comprehensive build‑out.
Longman said the city also faces related rising costs, including public defense spending (currently about $1 million a year and projected to rise) and a 25% per‑diem increase in jail costs for 2026. Staff said alternative response programs (ART, LEAD) reduce demand on first responders but have also seen state funding cuts.
To pay for needed changes, staff reviewed four options the city could implement directly: an ambulance utility fee, a fire benefit charge (requires 60% voter approval), a property tax levy (simple majority), and forming a regional fire authority. Staff recommended studying an RFA as the most sustainable long‑term solution; an RFA would create a separate taxing district for fire/EMS services and could free up an estimated $20–24 million of general‑fund capacity, but it would reduce the city’s direct control over the fire department and require coordination with Fire District 8.
Council members requested more comparative financial detail — for example, how an RFA or other options would affect a typical homeowner — before committing to a course. Council member Hamill moved to form an RFA planning committee with District 8; Council member Cotton seconded. The council recorded the motion as passing (5 yes, 1 abstain, 1 excused). Staff said a planning committee would build a service plan in six to eight months, return to council for final adoption, and could support an early‑2027 election if council chooses to advance a measure.
Councilors and staff agreed the assessment showed significant long‑term investment needs and that the planning committee’s next steps should include detailed revenue modeling and comparisons among funding options.
