2025 Bellingham City Council Scorecard
How Did Your Local Officials Vote in 2025?
Future 42 Whatcom County is a local county project committed to advocating for key issues such as public safety, housing affordability, and tax relief. As a grassroots effort, we believe local government works best when citizens are informed, engaged, and willing to speak up on the decisions that affect their communities, businesses, and future.
This year, we completed our third annual local scorecard for Whatcom County and launched our first for Bellingham and Ferndale, highlighting key votes taken by councilmembers in 2025. While we do not expect public officials to share our position on every vote, we believe residents should be able to clearly see how their local councilmembers vote on major issues.
Here is our recently published scorecard for the Bellingham City Council.
-
2026 Property Tax Levy (Ordinance 2025-11-031): Approval of the City of Bellingham’s 2026 property tax levy, including a 1% increase over the prior year’s base levy, raising cost-of-living concerns and fiscal accountability. Passed 7-0. (F42 opposed)
-
Safe and Stable Community Sales Tax (0.1%) (Ordinance 2025-10-023): Approval of a new 0.1% local sales tax for criminal justice purposes. Passed 7-0. (F42 neutral)
-
Prohibiting Unfair Rental Fees (Ordinance 2025-06-010): Approval of new restrictions on certain rental housing fees, deposits, and late charges, along with new disclosure requirements and legal remedies for violations, increasing concerns on the impacts to housing supply and costs. Passed 7-0. (F42 opposed)
-
Waste Management / Climate Alignment Updates (Ordinance 2025-02-003): Approval of updated solid waste rules requiring most single-family households to participate in curbside organic waste collection at added cost to residents without measurable benefit. Passed 7-0. (F42 opposed)
-
Landmark Tree Protections (Ordinance 2025-03-004): Approval of temporary protections for large landmark trees, requiring additional permit requirements for removal while permanent rules are developed, raising concerns about added regulation, reduced development flexibility, and further pressure on housing supply. Passed 7-0. (F42 opposed)
Our scorecards are meant to keep the community informed, promote accountability, and encourage civic engagement. We encourage residents to contact their elected officials, attend council meetings, and learn more here: https://cob.org/gov/council]. Follow Future 42 Whatcom County for updates and action alerts throughout the year.