# Bellingham City Council Budget Work Session: October 19th, 2026

The Bellingham City Council held a special budget work session on October 19, 2026, to review preliminary department budgets. Police described a largely status quo budget with additional funding associated with House Bill 2015, plans to rebuild traffic-division capacity, and proposed warrant and support-services positions. The department also plans to continue its task force and bicycle-unit work and organize officer participation in community outreach. Council members discussed rising jail costs and requested that jail expenses be shown more clearly in budget and periodic financial reports. The police department also identified an outside contract for officer wellness services, without stating its cost.

Fire’s main proposed addition is a recruit academy for approximately 10–12 people, with about $500,000 in overtime projected to backfill four staff members during the six-month academy; other increases were described as wage and benefit adjustments. The courts requested unfreezing a court commissioner position and another court position, and discussed an approximately $400,000 increase in professional-services spending, including probation-related costs; annual interpretation costs were estimated at about $80,000. The council discussed improving budget transparency through clearer line-item detail and footnotes. No contract awards, vendor selections, or procurement votes were identified in the transcript.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Public Safety
**Topics:** Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 20, 2026

### Sources
- [Bellingham City Council Budget Work Session: October 19th, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dPYPJz3fU0) - City of Bellingham, Washington