Whatcom government couldn’t give to nonprofits under charter-review proposal
Proposed changes to Whatcom County government that may wind up on the November ballot include a prohibition on funding nonprofits.
This amendment to the county charter, now under consideration by the Charter Review Commission, is far from being decided. The 15 members of the commission haven’t even debated it yet; commissioner Yvonne Goldsmith only read her proposed amendment at the commission’s meeting on Monday, Feb. 9. It could be discussed as early as the next meeting, on Feb. 23.
As introduced, Goldsmith’s amendment would prohibit the council and executive from giving county money to a wide range of nonprofits, from charitable and educational to homeowners associations, religious groups and business organizations. If the county is only administering money coming from the state or federal government, or some other outside source, the prohibition wouldn’t apply.
The $1.4 million one-year contract between the county and the Opportunity Council, for example, wouldn’t be affected because the money comes from state government. But the $276,000 the county is giving to the Bellingham Food Bank in 2015-16 would not be allowed under Goldsmith’s proposal.
Food bank Executive Director Mike Cohen said it was “shocking” the commission would even consider such a ban on funding social services.
“It’s always been my understanding and belief that one of the roles of government is to be a safety net and help people who aren’t able to support themselves,” Cohen said.
Goldsmith, in an interview, said she was a “food bank proponent” and wasn’t targeting specific nonprofits. She said she intends to research how the county spends its money on nonprofits to prepare for the commission’s deliberations.
“What motivates me is that ... I don’t believe the county budget is a never-ending pot of gold,” Goldsmith said. “There are 15 good minds sitting around that table, and we’re all going to discuss it.”
Six other proposed charter amendments will be on the next meeting agenda:
The Charter Review Commission will meet twice monthly into July, with additional meetings scheduled as needed, to debate and approve charter amendment proposals. These will finally be approved or rejected by county voters in November.
The commission’s next meeting is 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Lummi Administration Center, 2665 Kwina Road, on the Lummi Reservation.
This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Whatcom government couldn’t give to nonprofits under charter-review proposal."