Whatcom County brings jail funding agreement to cities

Whatcom County and its cities, including Blaine, are expected to vote on an agreement that would allow the county to start allocating sales tax revenue for the future jail and behavioral health facility, as well as additional support services.

Whatcom County deputy executive Tyler Schroeder, who presented the plan to Blaine City Council on April 22, said the cities and county will be asked to vote on the agreement during their first meetings in May. The agreements need to be signed by June in order for the sales tax revenue to start going toward the project.

The agreement is in line with a letter that all of the county mayors signed last June that said they were “willing to fund virtually any new correctional facility” and follows an ordinance that Whatcom County Council passed last July outlining project commitments.

Whatcom County voters approved Proposition 4, funding the jail and support services, by 63 percent during the November 2023 election. The proposition authorized the .2 percent sales tax, or 20 cents per $100, to fund the programs. Funding will be split 60 percent by the county and 40 percent by the cities, with the cities’ share divided by population. 

The jail and behavioral health facility will cost about $150 million. Design development would begin in 2025 and the total cost should be known by 2026, when construction is expected to start, according to the county’s estimates.  

The jail and behavioral health facility could be ready for occupancy as soon as 2028. County council decided last year that the jail would be built in Ferndale.

The size of the jail will be based on jail use, bookings, future population growth, and future investments to reduce incarceration rates, according to the county. The jail will be built for room to grow if the facility reaches 85 percent of operational capacity. 

The cities’ contribution will focus on debt service to the jail’s construction for the first four to six years, and once the jail is built, they will dedicate at least 50 percent of the public safety sales tax revenue to expanding incarceration prevention programs and services. Such programs could include re-entry programs, supportive housing and diversion programs, among others.

As a separate project, the county is also working to open a 23-hour crisis relief center on Division Street in Bellingham in mid-2026 with $11.3 million it received from the state legislature. 

The agreement between the county and cities will create the justice project finance advisory board that will oversee the collected funds and make open decisions about costs. The finance board will be represented by city and county officials, such as the sheriff and small cities’ elected representative, as well as someone with lived experience in the criminal justice system and a representative of the behavioral health system.