BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The City of Bellingham is considering a new tax to maintain its public safety services.

Deputy Administrator Forrest Longman presented a public safety service needs assessment to the city council on Monday, March 23.

The report was spurred by the city’s discovery last year that public safety costs were outpacing revenue and that it needed to find other sources of funding.

To remedy this, city staff are recommending a Regional Fire Authority (RFA) which Longman calls the only sustainable solution to address the city’s long-term needs.

“This would put the fire department in its own taxing district, it would become its own governmental entity, and that would free up to $24 million of general fund,” Longman told the council in a committee of the whole meeting. “That would allow the city to absorb other public safety needs, it would allow it to invest in other alternatives, and it would build capacity across the city.”

The RFA would need a simple majority in a public vote to pass.

If the council decides to adopt it in future meetings, the RFA would be on the spring 2027 ballot and start collecting that summer.

The city previously considered implementing an RFA in 2017 but ultimately decided not to move forward with it.

To learn more about the RFA and read the full needs assessment report, head to the link here.