As a waterfront city, Bellingham Bay and the larger Salish Sea are integral to Whatcom County’s lifeblood as well as its economic output. Public access to those waters is also a constitutional right.
Because of that right, over a hundred years ago a group of progressives in Washington banded together to push for the establishment of port districts as private business interests took over waterfronts across the western side of the state.
The idea was that port districts could establish public docks, make improvements to the wharf and expand the economic viability of waterfront industry, said Anna Booker, a professor of history at Whatcom Community College.
“The port as a commission is protecting the interests of the community as opposed to a private developer,” she said. “That would be the worst possible outcome to sell off these lands and put it back in private hands.”
The Port District Act passed the Washington Legislature in 1911.
At the time, Gov. Marion Hay told lawmakers, “The people of this state are in favor of public docks and wharfs and such harbor improvements as it will aid commerce and navigation for the benefit of all … It is important to the citizens of the state at large that our harbors should be the best and most commodious, in order that the state’s shipping and commercial interest may not suffer in comparison with that of her neighbors on the Pacific coast.”
Nine years later, Bellingham voters approved the establishment of the Port of Bellingham.
Over its 104-year history, the Port of Bellingham has been in control of making harbor improvements, drawing in business, from canneries and paper mills to retailers, and figuring out what the former Georgia Pacific plant area could — and still might — become.
But for the benefit of those who qualify as newcomers to this long-running drama, how does the port work? How much land does it own, and how does the agency make its money? Here is a primer:
What is the port?
The Port of Bellingham is responsible for Bellingham International Airport, decisions about leases and development on the land it owns, development of maritime trade, and managing about 100 employees who run its departments.
It controls 1,663 acres of land, owns around 90 buildings and is the landlord for 215 businesses on that land.
While the port may have Bellingham in its name, it’s more like the Port of Whatcom County since it operates in downtown Bellingham, Fairhaven and Blaine.
Its overall mission, according to the port, is to “promote sustainable economic development, optimize transportation gateways, and manage publicly owned lands and facilities to benefit Whatcom County.”
The port is run by three commissioners, who are publicly elected every four years. Note: In the century-plus of the port’s existence, only one commissioner has been a woman.
Commissioners have the power to levy taxes and issue bonds for purposes related to improving the harbor, improving rail, water and motor transfer facilities and handling other industrial improvements.
Some of those improvements include upgrading the wharf at the shipping terminal and replacing the dock, all with the goal of encouraging more cargo traffic and business. Port commissioners recently approved a $14 million bond for this project, expected to cost $27.5 million over two years.
How is the port governed?
Think of the Port of Bellingham and its commission as its own mini-government. The port works with Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham, but it isn’t a department of either of those governments.
Originally, Washington port commissions were designed to have three members making the decisions and signing off on contracts. Since 1994, voters in port districts have been given the tools to expand port commissions from three to five members. Six port commissions, including Seattle, Tacoma, Anacortes and most recently in 2022, Olympia, have five members.
The Port of Bellingham has three members, each representing one of three port districts in the county: Ken Bell, Bobby Briscoe and Michael Shepard. They serve in nonpartisan roles, meaning the roles shouldn’t be influenced by someone’s political affiliation.
Each commissioner serves a four-year term in a paid position making $8,400 a year. Bell and Shepard will be up for election in 2025.
If Whatcom County residents wanted to get two more commissioners on the port commission, at least one of two things would need to happen.
- One: Residents vote on a proposition to increase the commission to five after Whatcom County, with a current population of less than 250,000, reaches a population of 500,000 people;
- Two: A ballot proposition is submitted to the voters either after the port commission adopts a resolution proposing to increase the size of the commission, or the public successfully gets 8% of signatures from Whatcom County registered voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election to put the proposition on the ballot.
That second part — getting enough signatures to put the idea on the ballot — may be the easiest way for Whatcom County residents to expand the port commission. Northwest Citizen, a citizen-journalism site that is regularly critical of the Bellingham Port Commission, has published a number of pieces over the years arguing why expanding the commission is a good idea.
The last time Whatcom County voters went to the ballot box to expand the Port of Bellingham Commission — in a vote authorized by the commission itself — was in 2012. The measure was narrowly defeated, 49.19% to 50.81%.
However, the port commission has had repeated conversations in the past few years about what expansion could mean, first in 2019 and again in 2020.
Most recently, at the Port Commission’s meeting on Sept. 17, commissioner Ken Bell brought up the idea of having another discussion about expanding the commission after he learned there was an effort circulating in Bellingham to bring a ballot question on the topic.
“My fear is that it will become a tear down of the Port in order to get signatures on the petition and the ‘tear down the port’ campaign will do more damage to this body and to the work that we have here in this commission,” Bell said.
Port commissioners meet every two weeks on Tuesday afternoons at the Port of Bellingham offices to discuss myriad topics. The meetings are open to the public and the public has a chance to comment about the items for discussion at the beginning of the meeting and at the end. Agendas are posted a week in advance.
And while the port commission governs the policy decisions of the port, it’s the executive director, currently Rob Fix, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the port. Fix also has a seat at the table during commission meetings but does not vote on agenda items. He’s there to answer questions and help get items scheduled for discussion in the future.
Fix has assumed the aviation director role at the airport on top of his primary role at the port and it’s unknown when the job will be filled. Fix’s annual salary is $235,000, according to publicly available documents.
How does the Port pay for improvement projects?
The port gains revenue in a variety of ways. Maybe the most well known to property owners in Whatcom County is through property taxes.
In 2023, property owners were charged 13 cents per $1,000 of valued property that went to the Port of Bellingham’s coffers.
That’s around 2% of someone’s property tax bill, according to City of Bellingham data. Property owners tend to pay more in taxes for schools and city costs.
Port commissioners can vote every year to increase the property tax levy up to 1% from the previous year. Those discussions happen in October when the port is setting its annual operating budget.
The port anticipated $31.6 million in revenues for the 2024 budget forecast with a negative cash flow of $12.4 million estimated, according to the 2023 strategic budget document. In October, the port will create its 2025 budget.
Some of the biggest taxpayers in the port district include the BP refinery, the Phillips 66 refinery, Puget Sound Energy and BNSF Railway, according to publicly available information relating to the port’s economic standing.
The port also gets revenue from leases it has with local businesses across its various properties. Some of the largest property leases include LFS, Inc., Fairhaven Industrial Marine and the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Other funds can come in the form of federal dollars, including a recent grant to expand a rail line spur from Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s main line to the shipping terminal, as well as bonds.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
