Council members take a deeper look at the 2021-2022 Bellingham Police budget
Bellingham City Council members began examining the proposed 2021-2022 budget in detail last week, starting with possibly the most controversial aspect — the Police Department.
Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s $664 million spending plan for the next two years allocates $34.7 million to the Police Department in 2021 and $35.8 million in 2022.
That’s down from the $36.6 million police budget in 2020, but it’s not the 50% sought by a coalition of groups called Defund Bellingham Police.
“You’ll notice right away that this budget does not reflect the significant cuts of your Police Department some have been demanding,” Police Chief David Doll told the City Council in an online presentation Oct. 5.
“This budget does reflect continuing essential public safety services to all of our community, while also being responsive to the needs of some of our most vulnerable populations,” Doll said.
When compared to citywide spending, the Police Department had 8.9% of the overall 2020 budget.
Budget projections for 2021 show police with 9.4% of the overall budget in 2021 and 12.1% in 2022.
But the Police Department budget remains about one-third of the $172 million general fund budget for 2021-2022.
Next year’s budget exempts the police and fire departments from furloughs that are being sought from other employees to offset revenue shortfalls from the economic downturn caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.
Doll said his department’s 2021-2022 budget:
▪ Leaves four positions vacant because of a citywide hiring freeze.
▪ Eliminates one police officer position, and that $120,000 annual salary and benefits savings is being redirected to GRACE, the Ground-Level Response And Coordinated Engagement program for those who are frequent users of emergency and criminal justice systems. GRACE is a partnership funded by the city of Bellingham, PeaceHealth and Whatcom County, and the $120,000 doubles the city’s funding.
▪ Reassigns three other officers to behavioral-health response, for a total of four such officers.
▪ Anticipates a discussion about funding for a new unarmed 911 responder program.
▪ Increases funding for Whatcom County’s Crisis Stabilization Facility from $59,000 to $65,000.
A nationwide call to “defund the police” grew out of marches and rallies in response to the killings of unarmed Black people such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, and social-justice groups such as Black Lives Matter supporters sought change within the Police Department.
Bellingham Police Detective April Michelson, president of the Bellingham Police Guild, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, said in an email that it was too early in the budget process to comment.
Council members are considering budget presentations by department during work sessions at 10 a.m. Mondays through Nov. 16, and the work sessions are available to watch online at cob.org.
A public hearing on the proposed 2021-2022 budget is scheduled for Nov. 9.
Doll told the council that police officers have become de facto social workers and deep cuts would endanger services that help homeless people and those struggling with mental illness and substance abuse.
“The answer is certainly not to cut and redistribute the police budget,” Doll said. “If I thought these cuts would serve our community’s best interests, I would recommend them. However, if we did this, our community would be at greater risk and your Police Department would become primarily reactive.”
But a Bellingham real estate agent and Black activist said last week she was disappointed that Police Department cuts didn’t go further.
Kristina Michele told The Bellingham Herald last week that she expected more of the community’s concerns would be addressed, especially after she and others spent considerable time over the past few months talking to city and police officials about racial issues.
“The budget for the city is the most important policy document,” Michele said. “It tells us what the politicians think the problems are or aren’t. With this budget, it seems our concerns are falling on deaf ears.”
Councilman Dan Hammill told The Herald in an interview last week that he was pleased to see the budget’s extra emphasis on mental health issues and the council’s move toward possible citizen oversight of police.
“These are significant — I wouldn’t say ‘sea change’ but darn close to it when acknowledging the issues that our community is facing when it comes to behavioral health calls,” he said at the Oct. 5 budget meeting.
Hammill was an architect of the GRACE program, chairs the council’s Public Health, Safety and Justice Committee and sits on the countywide Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force.
Additional funding for social programs is difficult to find in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis, he told The Herald.
Doll told the council that he appreciates their support and trust but that recent events have demoralized members of the department.
About one-fifth of the department’s 119 full-time commissioned officers will be eligible to retire next year.
“It is not surprising that the current anti-law enforcement climate is motivating people to leave this noble profession. We’re seeing this nationwide and I’m hearing this from my own personnel,” Doll said.
