BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A new sales tax being proposed in Bellingham would help bolster the city’s criminal justice services as it faces a weighty deficit.
Bellingham City Council approved a resolution on Monday night to explore the potential of adding a new, one-tenth of one percent sales tax.
Deputy City Administrator Forest Longman says the tax would raise nearly $4 million in revenue for the city’s criminal justice program and police department in 2026.
It comes as Bellingham is currently facing a $10 million budget deficit, which Longman says would fall to $6 million if the new tax is approved.
“This funding here is more of a short-term solution, because we know that $6 million increment ever year just gets bigger and bigger and – as we’ve seen with the sales tax previously – this isn’t going to solve the fact that our expenses are outpacing our rate of growth, but it patches it for a time,” Longman told the council’s Budget and Finance Committee on Monday.
The state Legislature created the option for cities to add the tax earlier this year as part of the 2025 legislative session.
The city has to apply as soon as possible for it to be able to start collecting the tax in 2026, though that doesn’t bind it to imposing the tax.
The council will circle back to the topic in September to discuss whether it will be implemented.
