purposes of the jail population analysis is to help them right-size the
facility for what is needed for our community and that the designers
recommend building and programming in such a way to maximize
flexibility, when the cities would consider the interlocal agreement and
possibly extending their contributions to 2035, that those discussions are
happening now but will start in earnest once the Council sets a budget cap,
getting more information on how a stated number of beds will put the
county in a position to not have booking restrictions for the long term, and
the necessity of the programs referenced in Ordinance 2023-039 (section
5(1)(D)) to move forward with reduced crime rates while also providing an
updated and safe facility.
Financial Framework and Finance and Facility Advisory Board (FFAB)
Recommendation
Jed Holmes, Executive's Office, stated when initial scenarios showed that
the vision of the Implementation Plan did not look like it was going to fit
within the amount of money this sales tax is generating, the Administration
was asked to provide an analysis for a potential budget cap. He then spoke
about the ensuing discussions and recommendations of the FFAB regarding
what the county can afford. They recommended a budget cap of $225
million for construction, with $205 million of that for the jail and $20
million for the behavioral care center, and the Administration is waiting for
Council direction so they can enter the next phase of negotiations with the
cities.
He and councilmembers discussed that a lot of things have changed since
the 2023 ordinance (2023-039) and the interlocals with the cities, so they
are thinking about doing an entirely new interlocal, how they can get as
close as possible to the original commitment (which may mean a lower
budget cap than what the FFAB recommended), a desire to get to the 50/50
(after the first four to six years) use of the tax revenue for projects as
prioritized in the Justice Project Implementation Plan sooner, and the idea
of focusing more on the outcome that they want instead of just a black and
white percentage of the revenue.
Behavioral Health Analysis
Erin Persky, Erin Persky and Associates, spoke about the behavioral health
analysis which her team conducted for Whatcom County, and their service
model recommendations for a proposed behavioral care center.
Persky, Johnson, Schott-Bresler, and councilmembers discussed the
opinion that the cost per bed per day is high, that the 22 spaces for a crisis
relief center (CRC) are in addition to the recommended 32-bed
co-occurring disorders (COD) facility and that it is best to consider them as
