Who will oversee the spending of funds collected from the new Whatcom County sales tax?

A Finance Advisory Board would “provide financial oversight of the funds collected from this sales and use tax and make recommendations on the finance and operations of the Whatcom County jail, behavioral health, and supportive housing facilities and services, aligned with a population health report on public health and safety.”

County Council would appoint the members: Whatcom County Executive, a Whatcom County Councilmember, the Whatcom County Sheriff, the Mayor of Bellingham, a Bellingham City Councilmember, an elected representative from small city, two elected representatives from Lummi/Nooksack tribes, a municipal law enforcement representative, the chair(s) of the IPRTF/LJC (Incarceration Prevention Reduction Task Force/Law and Justice Committee), an individual with lived experience in the criminal justice system, and a representative of the behavioral health system.

Image: IPRTF meeting screenshot