City of Bellingham On Voting Positions

From: Clare Fogelsong, City of Bellingham Planning Unit Representative
Date: October 10
Subject: Planning Unit Caucus Representation

There are three basic caucus types; 1) those that represent a single entity (City of Bellingham, Whatcom County, PUD 1, and Port Authority), 2) those that represent a relatively small and identifiable group of entities and have a structure for meeting and selecting a representative (Federal and State governments, Small Cities, Water Districts, Diking/Drainage Districts, and Non-Municipal Water Systems), and 3) caucuses with dispersed constituencies and a range of organizational ability to represent their constituents (Agriculture, Environment, Fishers, Forestry, Land Development and Private Well Owners).

The differences in organizational structures should be reflected in the requirements for caucus representation. To that end the following suggestions are presented for consideration.

Representatives of the Type 1 caucuses, City of Bellingham, Whatcom County, PUD 1, and Port Authority, will present to the Whatcom County Council some indication of appointment from the mayor, executive, or respective commission.

Representatives of the Type 2 caucuses, Federal and State governments, Small Cities, Water Districts, Diking/Drainage Districts, and Non-Municipal Water Systems, will present to the Whatcom County Council some indication of appointment resulting from a vote or assignment registered by the group of participating members of the caucus, e.g. a vote taken and recorded in the minutes of a meeting.

The Type 3 caucuses, Agriculture, Environment, Fishers, Forestry, Land Development and Private Well Owners, are similar in that their constituents are dispersed throughout the community. However they vary widely in the degree of organizational structure available for selecting a Planning Unit representative. It appears that Agriculture and Land Development have the most established organizational structures, representing a significant portion of their constituent groups. Fishers, Forestry and Environment may also be able to rely on existing organizations to serve the purpose of selecting representation. The Private Well
Owner caucus seems to be the most challenged in this regard. For all these caucuses a meeting should be held inviting members of the public, who are associated with the issues represented by the caucus, to participate in the selection of a representative. The selection action could be added to the agenda of a regular  meeting of an existing organization that is recognized in the community for its representation of a single caucuses' issues, or the meeting could be held for the single purpose of organizing a caucus to select the representative and establish a means to keep caucus members informed of Planning Unit issues. Representatives of these caucuses will present to the Whatcom County Council a copy of the meeting notice, list of attendees and some record of the action taken to select a  representative.