Show All Answers

1. How do I find out what Council District I live in?

Go to the District Map. Once there, zoom in to find an area or street, then simply click on the map to see what district it is in.

2. What is the best way to contact the Council?

You can contact individual Councilmembers or all of them at the same time. Individual contact information can be found on the page Council Terms and Contact Information

3. When does the Council meeting agenda come out?

The Council meeting agenda is usually on the website by the end of the day on the Wednesday before the Council meeting. It can be found in the Legislative Information Center

4. How do I participate in a Virtual Council Open Session or Public Hearing?

Virtual meetings are held via a Zoom Webinar platform. You may provide public comment to the Council during open session or a virtual public hearing by joining the webinar. You can join the meeting at any time before or during the meeting.  If pre-registration is activated for a meeting, pre-registering is highly encouraged. Those who pre-register will be called upon to speak before those who have not registered. All live testimony will be broadcast, recorded, and retained for the public record. Please visit the County Council’s Participate in Virtual Council Meetings webpage for specific instructions on how to join the webinar.

5. How do I sign up to receive notifications for upcoming County Council, Board of Health, or Surface Water Work Session meetings?

To sign up for an notifications for Whatcom County Council and Committee agendas navigate to the Notify Me Center.

• Once you are on that page type in your email address in the box and select Sign In.
• If you want to receive text messages enter your phone number and select Save.
• Scroll down the page to any notification category you would like to receive notification on.
• To be notified when Council meetings are coming up scroll down to the Calendar category, find County Council, and click on the email icon (on the left) and/or the text icon (on the right). The calendar notification sends out a reminder the week before the upcoming council meeting date and includes a link to the Legislative Information Center where you can find each individual meeting’s agendas and other meeting information.
• You can sign up for more than one type of notification category. The County Council also sends out News Flash notifications and it is in the list under the News Flash category as Whatcom County Council

6. What time do Regular Council meetings start?

Regular Council meetings generally start at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Whatcom County Courthouse at 311 Grand Avenue in Bellingham. Check the Legislative Information Center for information on each upcoming meeting.

7. If I can’t attend a Council meeting, how can I find out what the Council discussed?

You can access information about a Council meeting by visiting the : Legislative Information Center. Here you can 

• Access All Meeting Information
  On the new site, all meeting information will be organized by tabs that present details with multiple filtering options. 
  • Meeting Information (a calendar list format that gives you access to agendas, packets, media, files, and action taken on agenda items) 
  • Search Files (a search page to look for files by date, topic, or file type)
  • Meeting Bodies (filter searches for Council or a particular Committee and see the councilmembers that are on each meeting body) 
• Access the Code and Charter
  There will be a direct link to the Whatcom County Code and Charter from the Legislative Information Center and still from the main County Council page.
  
  Find Archived Meeting Information 
  Older meeting information will be easily accessed through the Archives tab.
  
  Search Ordinances, Resolutions, and Minutes Two Ways
  Ordinances and Resolutions will be found and searchable for content in two places.
  • Going forward, these documents will be attached to the meeting details of the corresponding Council meeting date
  • You will also be able to access all ordinances, resolutions and minutes through a "Legislation and Minutes 1979-Present" tab 
• Create Custom Searches and Personalized Alerts
  The Legislative Information Center tabs will allow for multi-faceted filtering so you can quickly find what you are looking for. You can also create custom alerts based on search parameters such as meeting bodies, time periods, or topics. 

8. How do I search the Whatcom County Code for a specific topic?

• Open the Code from the Legislation and Codes page in the left side page menu of Council’s home page 
• On the top right of the Code page, type key words into the box with the orange magnifying glass that says “Search Whatcom County Code” 
• You can also click on “Advanced Search” for more search options

9. How do I save or print sections of the Whatcom County Code or Charter?

• When on the Whatcom County Code page, navigate to the section of code you would like to print or save in the Contents (gray) box on the left of the page
• Click the check box next to each section you would like to print
• Click on the green button (“Print / Save Selections”) 
• Using the drop-down arrow in the field at the top of the window, choose the format in which you would like to save/print 
• Choose “Print this page” or “Save”

10. What records are accessible online?

• Agendas, video, audio, minutes, action taken, and meeting packets
• Public Notices
• 1979 - current Ordinances
• 1979 - current Resolutions
• 1984 - current Committee Minutes
• 1979 - current Council Minutes

11. How can I access Council related records that are not online?

• Contact the Council Office to find out where the records are stored
• Council staff will retrieve documents stored in the Council Office or the County Records Center 
  • You may come to the Council Office to view them, and/or the Council Office will make copies for a small copy fee 
  • Some documents may also be emailed to you.
    
• If the records are stored at the State Archive, you can contact them directly to request what you need by calling (360) 650-3125 or emailing at NWBranchArchives@sos.wa.gov