BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The discussion to create a new taxing district in Bellingham is heating up as a key deadline approaches.

The Bellingham City Council voted on Monday, Nov. 2, to postpone their decision to place a regional fire authority, or RFA, on the February 2027 special election ballot

The council’s decision to postpone the vote indefinitely gives them flexibility to re-introduce the proposal at any future meeting while they learn more about it.

Many of their questions Monday surrounded the RFA’s fire benefit charge, which uses a formula based on a building’s size, use and fire risk to calculate a fee each property owner pays. Council members also discussed the potential for tax relief in other areas if the RFA were to pass.

In addition to the fire benefit charge, establishing an RFA would help fund the city’s emergency response services through a property tax hike of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said at Monday’s meeting that city-wide reductions would be a near certainty if the RFA doesn’t pass.

“The question in front of us with the draft RFA plan isn’t whether we’ll continue to pay for public safety. We will, because we must,” Lund told the council. “The question is whether we pay in a way that’s stable and plans ahead, or whether we keep paying through slow erosion, one reduction at a time.”

The council plans to discuss the proposal again at their next meeting on Nov. 16 ahead of the Dec. 11 deadline to submit the measure to the Whatcom County Auditor.

The city is aiming to get the measure to voters on the Feb. 9, 2027, special election ballot and it would need a 60% supermajority to pass.

You can learn more about the city’s RFA proposal in My Bellingham Now’s interview with Kim Lund.