Jail proponents hope third time is the charm

To pay for a new jail in Whatcom County, voters have been asked to approve a sales tax increase from 8.8 to 9 percent to fund in-part what the county estimates to be at least a $39.5 million capital investment, with more than $21 million in annual operating costs. Major capital investments include:

$12 million (with $3 million from proposed sales tax) in funding for construction of a 23-hour crisis relief center.

$8-10 million annually in capital expenses for the new jail and $8 million in one-time expenses for a behavioral health treatment center.

$6 million in capital investments to fund re-entry support services.

$4 million to maintain and expand recovery and supportive housing programs.

County voters have twice rejected similar ballot measures. Proponents of Proposition 2023-04 hope the third time will be the charm to green light. Sales tax would also fund an in-person behavioral health facility, and diversion, housing, and re-entry programs.

The current jail, located in downtown Bellingham adjacent to the county courthouse, was built in 1983 to accommodate 148 inmates. According to booking data by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), as of October 9, the jail is housing 163 inmates.

Since March 2020, booking restrictions have been implemented to attempt to keep the jail population manageable while the county court system worked through hundreds of backlogged cases. Still, the jail remains at or near capacity on a weekly basis, according to WCSO data.

WCSO Corrections lieutenant Caleb Erickson said that corrections staff at the downtown jail are forced to constantly improvise ways to fit more people than the jail was built to safely house.

“Everything is designed for 148 people,” Erickson said. “It’s full as a tick.”

Erickson said corrections staff have had to increase capacity in makeshift ways as the jail stays above capacity. That included turning the men’s indoor recreation area into dormitory-style bunks that hold up to 20 inmates and the women’s into a dry food storage unit, the women’s block converting from 64 beds to bunk beds to accommodate 128 people in the same square footage and having inmates sleep on cots on the ground when bunks are full.

Whatcom County Democrats ratified a resolution against voting for the November 7 ballot measure, citing a lack of transparency from the county government on potential taxpayer costs, and the inability to reduce the underlying causes of incarceration.

They were a key opponent to the 2017 ballot measure that proposed a jail of 244 cells, now the county is proposing a roughly 440-cell jail, “with no explanation or public discussion,” according to the Democrats’ resolution.

“The county budget is stretched tight, only getting by because of federal pandemic relief funds,” the resolution stated. “The additional staff and maintenance costs not covered by the tax will eat up our capacity to provide other services to the community.”

Whatcom County Democrats also pointed to other means of incarceration reduction such as cash bail reform. The county’s 2023 Needs Assessment Report showed that 98 percent of inmates are in county jail being held pretrial, and that nearly two-thirds of those cannot afford to post bail.

Jed Holmes, community outreach facilitator for the Whatcom County Executive’s Office, said any legislation toward cash bail reform has to come from the state legislature.

“That’s just not in our realm of responsibility,” Holmes said. “There’s a long list of things that should be done with regard to criminal justice reform. The amount of those things getting done in this building are very small.”

County executive Satpal Sidhu has been an avid proponent of the new jail. In a statement to the All Point Bulletin, Sidhu urged the public to vote yes on the ballot measure.

“This is a complex issue with many facets and requires huge investments both to build a new building for the current jail and a behavioral health care center,” Sidhu wrote.

“I admit that this may not be a perfect solution, but this is the best compromise solution.”