Editor’s note: This article has been updated with corrected information. MBN regrets the error. Last updated: April 30, 2026 at 11:22 a.m.
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A new ferry district may be established in Whatcom County.
The county council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to introduce an ordinance that would create a district benefitting the Lummi Island ferry.
It would allow the county to collect a tax from all property-owning residents to fund the Whatcom Chief’s maintenance and operation. The proposed ordinance would create a levy to fund the ferry, adding a tax of no more than 10 cents per thousand dollars on assessed value. Any greater tax would require voter’s approval.
Public Works Director Elizabeth Kosa told council members on Tuesday that the amount of money coming in to fund the ferry just isn’t enough.
“A road fund cannot responsibly sustain payments of the ferry system at $3 million a year, so we can’t continue to do that,” she said during her presentation. “The road fund also cannot afford the infrastructure debt service, which is going to be at an additional (above and beyond all of the cuts we’ve made already) $1.5 million a year.”
The ferry has faced numerous challenges with repairs in the last few years alone, with regular outages impacting access to the island while passenger-only ferries compensate only so much. Costs to replace the aging ferry skyrocketed between 2021 and 2024.
About 1,400 properties on the island depend on the Chief to get to and from the island for essential services.
Removing or drastically reducing the ferry’s service would potentially violate ferry residents’ constitutional rights, according to Kosa.
A public hearing will be held on the topic in the coming weeks.
