The City of Bellingham invites the Bellingham community to join virtual public forums to share feedback on Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s proposal to develop a Climate Action Fund, to help Bellingham achieve its goals in the Council-approved, community-supported Bellingham Climate Action Plan.
The public feedback forums are scheduled for 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 23.
“Our community is committed to making significant progress on climate actions this decade,” Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said. “We see the work of creating a Climate Action Fund as necessary to achieve our ambitious plan of climate actions, but only if it is in the context of broad public engagement that ensures community voices are incorporated into our planning. The public forums are an important step towards that end.”
At each session, Mayor Fleetwood and Seth Vidaña, the City’s Climate and Energy Manager, will provide an overview of the need for the public funding necessary to achieve our community’s climate goals and the proposed uses of the funds, if approved.
As proposed, the Climate Action Fund would be funded by a property tax levy. Revenue from this fund would be invested in the Bellingham community to help reduce pollution to meet emissions reduction targets, adapt to a changing climate including extreme weather events, and serve our most vulnerable populations first.
The City wants to hear from Bellingham community members about climate change actions they want to see and what barriers they anticipate. This feedback can be provided during the public forums or online feedback will be accepted on the Engage Bellingham Climate Action Fund Community Feedback page. Community feedback is essential to help inform the levy creation process and provide perspective on how best to utilize funding to maximize community benefits.
More details about the proposal are available on the Climate Action page of the City website as well as the Engage Bellingham page.
