Budget cuts possible from coronavirus pandemic measures, Bellingham mayor says
Budget cuts are likely because of a recession caused by measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 disease, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said Monday afternoon, April 27.
A city budget that looked promising in January now seems unpredictable in light of the new coronavirus pandemic, Fleetwood said during an online meeting of the City Council’s Committee of the Whole.
“The world changed very, very quickly,” Fleetwood said. “And of course we’re in a time of significant economic uncertainty.”
No cuts were announced Monday, but Fleetwood said that he has asked city department heads to provide options for reducing expenses in the next two-year budget cycle.
Bellingham officials are just starting to prepare the 2021-2022 budget, he said.
“City revenues will be increasingly threatened by recession,” Fleetwood wrote in a memo to the council. “There will not be funding to support expansions in levels of service or new programming without meaningful offsetting reductions or new revenues. Moreover, budget reductions may be required.”
In Bellingham, pandemic measures are affecting sales taxes, admissions taxes for entertainment and business and occupation taxes based on gross sales, Finance Director Andy Asbjornsen told The Bellingham Herald in a recent interview.
Such taxes brought in $88 million to Bellingham in 2019, according to the city’s budget.
City officials recently canceled all summer festivals, events and athletic leagues, and community classes and programs to ensure continued social distancing — a further hit to revenue, both the city’s and that of private businesses.
“These declines likely will be felt most acutely in the 2021-2022 budget. We hope it will be short-lived, but we must plan for it regardless,” Fleetwood wrote to the council.
Fleetwood listed these goals for the upcoming two-year budget:
▪ Ensure long-term financial stability for the city.
▪ Move forward with the Climate Action Plan.
▪ Maintain city assets.
▪ Find ways to improve efficiency.
Fleetwood said 2021-2022 budget priorities will include:
▪ Public health and safety.
▪ Climate action.
▪ Affordable housing and homelessness.
▪ Economic development.
▪ Environmental remediation.
