Members of the Whatcom County Council affect our daily lives at every turn. They adopt the County budget, which means that they levy taxes and decide how the money should be distributed among services such as public safety, flood control, health services, and County roads. They make development plans, create land use rules, and even set speed limits. Members of city councils make some of the same kinds of decisions for their cities.
The Port of Bellingham has three Commissioners who are responsible for policy direction and who oversee all the Port’s operations. That includes managing the Port of Bellingham, Blaine Harbor, and the Bellingham airport and planning for their future, developing business, industry, agriculture, housing, and parks, providing security and emergency services, extending broadband in the County, and more. The Commissioners’ actions strongly affect Whatcom County’s prosperity.