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Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu told the County Council on Sept. 15 that he will not seek a third term in 2027, ending his announcement with a budget message rather than a campaign speech. He gave no reason for the decision. Sidhu, first elected in 2019 and reelected in 2022, made the statement immediately before formally transmitting his recommended 2027-2028 biennial budget — a $393.2 million spending plan for 2027 and $358.3 million for 2028 that he says stabilizes a General Fund heading toward a structural deficit.
Six years, two floods and a pandemic
In his remarks to the council, Sidhu pointed to the record his administration will leave behind: the COVID-19 pandemic, two major floods, the region’s opioid crisis and recurring cross-border tensions with Canada — a list that reads like a summary of nearly every emergency declaration Whatcom County has issued since 2020. He also noted that the county’s general fund year-end balance grew by at least 15% in each of the past six years, a claim he offered as evidence of fiscal discipline even as his own budget documents describe a fund now running structurally short.
That contrast is the real story underneath the retirement announcement. County budget staff have warned for months that without cuts of 7% to 10%, the General Fund faced deficits of $8.3 million in 2027 and $14.3 million in 2028 — a warning serious enough that county officials raised the possibility of layoffs earlier this year. Sidhu’s recommended budget responds with roughly $10 million, or about 7%, in General Fund expense reductions compared with the amended 2026 budget, which his budget message describes as an effort to “stabilize the fund and course correct the structural deficit.”
Three levies, one ferry
Rather than rely on cuts alone, Sidhu’s plan proposes three revenue changes the council will now have to weigh without him running again to defend them at the ballot box. The budget would split the Veterans Assistance Levy and the Developmental Disabilities/Mental Health Levy out of the General Fund Levy, a maneuver county officials say frees up about $2.3 million in taxing authority for general operations without changing what those dedicated levies actually collect. It would also use the full levy capacity available to the county’s flood control zone district, adding an estimated $3.1 million a year — money Sidhu’s office says is needed to put $13 million the county received in 2026, and up to $30 million more potentially coming from the state, to work on flood projects.
The third piece is a proposed ferry district levy, tied directly to one of the county’s most visible capital problems: the 64-year-old vehicle ferry serving Lummi Island. County officials say the levy would free up resources in the road fund to support replacing that boat, work that comes as the county has separately signed a $25 million federal grant agreement toward the replacement ferry. The budget message also sets aside $500,000 in 2027 and $1 million in 2028 for a General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserve, plus an annual $238,000 for the Community Priorities Fund — modest sums against a nine-figure budget, but ones aimed at preventing the next executive from inheriting the same shortfall warnings Sidhu’s office issued this year.
What happens next
None of it is final. The County Council, which includes Kaylee Galloway, Elizabeth Boyle, Jessica Rienstra, Mark Stremler, Ben Elenbaas, Barry Buchanan and Jon Scanlon, must review and can amend the recommended budget before adoption. The county has scheduled a public open house on Sept. 30 for residents to ask questions about the proposal, with a formal public hearing set for November ahead of final passage.
Sidhu’s decision not to run again also opens a county executive seat that has not turned over since 2019, and as of this week no candidate had filed for the 2027 race. The current council includes several members who have run countywide before, but no one has publicly declared an intention to seek the executive’s office, and speculation about a successor remains just that — speculation, not filed candidacy. What is certain is that whoever campaigns for the seat next year will inherit the budget fight Sidhu leaves behind: a General Fund the county’s own numbers say cannot sustain current service levels without either new levies, further cuts, or both.
For now, the immediate test is procedural. The council’s response to the levy proposals, the ferry district idea and the $10 million in reductions will shape the county’s finances well past the end of Sidhu’s term — and will likely be the first real test of how much appetite the council has for revenue solutions versus deeper cuts once the executive who proposed them is no longer running for reelection.
Sources: My Bellingham Now, KMRE, Whatcom County Executive’s Office, The Bellingham Herald
