BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Whatcom County is preparing to make significant service reductions ahead of a looming budget deficit.

The county council listened to a presentation from county leadership Tuesday morning, May 12, on the state of budget planning.

Deputy Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler said this will be the toughest budget cycle in recent memory.

“We are facing a clear structural imbalance that is significant and we are seeing it across the board in other public agencies and other local governments, so this is unavoidable that this is coming,” Schott-Bresler told the council. “We have sort of deferred it as long as we possibly could, but we are here now and this is what we must confront.”

Flattening sales tax revenue and rising labor costs have currently tabbed the county’s projected budget shortfall at just over $8 million by 2027 before rising to $14 million in 2028.

As a result, the executive’s office has asked each county department to prepare to cut their services by 7 to 10 percent.

The county will prioritize keeping core services that are required by state law while cutting any discretionary spending.

Schott-Bresler noted that nothing is off the table and no department is exempt from the reductions.

Preliminary budget proposals for the 2027-28 biennium are due from county departments by May 29 ahead of the final deadline on July 15.

My Bellingham Now previously reported that Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu sent an email to county employees earlier in the week warning them that the county is considering layoffs and schedule adjustments as they prepare for the biennium spending plan.