Bellingham updates ordinance some had feared to allow quick action on coronavirus
Bellingham City Council members voted Monday night to update a 40-year-old ordinance that gives the mayor emergency powers in the event of a natural disaster or similar crisis.
Under a measure enacted in 1977, the city can create an Emergency Services Council composed of the mayor and City Council that could act quickly outside normal government channels in times of civil unrest, disease outbreak, or natural disaster to take action or impose temporary limits on personal rights — including curfews and restrictions on firearms and alcohol sales.
“This does not add any power to the city as a whole or to the mayor,” City Attorney Peter Ruffatto said during the meeting. “This is purely a procedural process matter.”
Many cities and states across the U.S. have similar measures on the books that give elected officials broad authority in a natural disaster, during civil unrest, or in a public health emergency such as the new coronavirus pandemic.
Current code requires the City Council to meet every 48 hours to consider the effectiveness of the council’s actions and confirm an emergency order issued by the mayor within 24 hours.
Proposed changes reduce membership of the Emergency Services Council to the mayor, the city’s director of emergency services, and the City Council president.
But the City Council still must confirm by emergency ordinance all emergency orders that have the force of law, Ruffatto said.
Its consideration before the council, just as strict public assembly limits were taking effect throughout Washington in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, drew anger online from gun-rights advocates and from frequent initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, a Republican candidate for governor.
Eyman also criticized the city’s decision to suspend public comment at its meetings for the duration of the pandemic crisis.
“In 20-plus years of political activism, I’ve never seen a bunch of politicians show this much ignorance about our God-given rights,” Eyman said in an email to his supporters. “These anti-Second Amendment provisions clearly violate the U.S. Constitution and our state Constitution.”
He attended the meeting with some supporters but did not create a disturbance and no crowds arrived to protest as had been threatened, Fleetwood wrote in a text message to The Bellingham Herald.
“Police Chief David Doll was there to help with crowd control but fortunately that was not a problem,” Fleetwood wrote.
But a video posted to YouTube shows Eyman confronting City Council members before the meeting because the public comment portion of the meeting was canceled over coronavirus fears, because speakers would have to share a common microphone.
Eyman criticized the council action on his campaign Facebook page.
Public comment on any city business can be emailed to ccmail@cob.org, and residents were encouraged to watch City Council meetings online.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 12:57 PM.
