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Bellingham · Fund #001 · General

General

The City of Bellingham's General Fund is the primary operating account funding general government services — police, parks, planning, finance, mayor's office, council, and central administration. Revenue comes from the ...

Active General Bellingham
Latest end balance
Revenue (latest year)
Spent (latest year)
Cumulative revenue
Cumulative spent

About this fund

The City of Bellingham's General Fund is the primary operating account funding general government services — police, parks, planning, finance, mayor's office, council, and central administration. Revenue comes from the city's regular property tax levy, sales tax, utility taxes, and licenses. Constrained by RCW 84.55 (the 1% statutory cap) on the property-tax revenue side.

Multi-year balance ledger

Year-by-year revenue, spending, and ending balance from the city's budget and CAFRs.
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Where the money goes

Top spending categories from documented budget line items.
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Revenue mix

Every documented inflow into this fund. By default the mix uses each source's most recent year (which means percentages mix years). Pick a single year to see strictly comparable percentages.
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Discussed in meetings

Real Briefings that mention this fund.
Apr 13, 2026
The Budget and Finance Committee received a comprehensive year-end financial review for 2025, revealing a city that narrowly avoided deficit spending through strategic revenue adjustments but faces mounting fiscal ...
Apr 01, 2026
The 18th Annual Lake Whatcom Joint Councils and Commissioners Meeting brought together officials from Whatcom County, Bellingham, and Lake Whatcom Water & Sewer District to review 2025 progress and discuss 2026 ...
Mar 10, 2026
The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee met to receive updates on two critical justice system components: district court probation services and Justice Project finances. The meeting ...
Mar 10, 2026
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Feb 24, 2026
The City of Bellingham Water Resources Advisory Board (WRAB) held a facilitated workshop session focused on designing the city's first-ever annual utility report. The meeting centered around a collaborative exercise led ...
Feb 19, 2026
The Bellingham Planning Commission held its February 2026 meeting focused on three major work session items following the election of new leadership. In the evening's most significant action, commissioners elected Jed ...
Feb 12, 2026
The Whatcom County Planning Commission held its annual business meeting on February 12, 2026, focusing on administrative matters following the completion of their comprehensive plan work. The commission elected new ...
Feb 10, 2026
Whatcom County Council's Committee of the Whole tackled a packed agenda covering state legislative updates, critical urban growth area decisions, comprehensive planning challenges, and government reform initiatives ...
Jan 15, 2026
Day four of the Protect Mud Bay Cliffs SEPA appeal hearing continued with testimony focused on stormwater management and regulatory compliance for the proposed Woods at Viewcrest development. The session opened with a ...
Jan 13, 2026
Whatcom County's Finance and Administrative Services Committee held its first meeting of 2026 with all seven members present, marking the expansion of committee size from the previous three-member structure. The ...

Sources: Bellingham adopted budgets and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs); Chart of Accounts; Real Briefings meeting coverage. Real Record renders the published fund data in plain language; we don't change the numbers. Where the source publishes a different classification than ours, both are shown.