Email details Whatcom County moves to address looming budget deficits
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu has ordered a hiring freeze and other measures to ease the impact of looming deficits in the next two-year budget cycle.
In an email sent Tuesday evening, Sidhu said all county job vacancies will require a 30-day hold and approval of the deputy executive before posting. Discretionary overtime has been suspended.
“As previously discussed, I am implementing austerity measures to end 2026 with a healthy General Fund balance,” Sidhu said in an email to department heads and elected Whatcom County officials obtained by The Bellingham Herald. “The structural revenue-expense gap means we’ll need to make harder cuts next year. These measures are immediate and will help us build the buffer we need to make those cuts thoughtfully, not reactively. I know this creates constraints, but nevertheless, I am announcing (these) measures, effective immediately.”
Deputy Executive Kayla Schott-Bressler warned that cost-saving steps were imminent when she delivered a gloomy forecast Tuesday during a presentation to the County Council regarding the preliminary 2027-2028 budget. Whatcom County faces multi-million-dollar deficits over the next two years, she said.
Schott-Bressler and Finance Director Randy Rydel told the committee that without cuts of 7% to 10%, the council is facing General Fund deficits of $8.3 million in 2027 and $14.3 million in 2028. Just last week, Sidhu sent an email to all county employees warning that layoffs or employee “schedule adjustments” might be needed to balance the books in the next two-year budget cycle.
In addition to the hiring freeze, Sidhu is limiting the issuance of contracts that use General Fund or equivalent funds unless the service is required by law.
“When a department puts a contract forward, the memo must explain the operational or legal necessity,” Sidhu said.
Travel and training spending is frozen, with exceptions will be made for travel already booked and not reimbursable, travel funded by grant or other non-discretionary revenue source that is an “operational necessity.” Job certification requirements that can’t be done remotely.
Further austerity measures encourage:
- Use of voluntary unpaid leave.
- Energy conservation.
- Limits on use of supplies and printing.
- “Non-essential” subscriptions, professional associations and memberships unless funded by a grant.
- New grant applications or grant-funded contracts must ensure that indirect costs are covered.
“Departments should continue to use judgment in any submission of non-travel food and beverage requests, as these activities create spending and optics concerns during times of retraction,” Sidhu said.
