Understanding Government Budgets - WORKSHOP
Welcome to our Understanding Government Budgets workshops! Join us for an interactive session where you'll learn about how government budgets work. From revenue sources to expenditure categories, we'll break it all down in a fun and engaging way.
Do you know how to read a city budget?
As the City of Bellingham begins its annual budgeting session facing a $10 million deficit, residents are invited to learn how to read the city budget — and how to make their views on that budget known.
Two free budget workshops sponsored by Salish Current, a nonprofit local news organization, will be led by City of Bellingham Deputy Administrator Forrest Longman, who previously served as the city’s finance director.
The identical workshops will be held on Oct. 7 and 14 at the Bellingham Senior Activity Center, 315 Halleck Street. The workshops begin at 6 p.m. and doors open at 5:30 p.m.
The workshops, underwritten by a Whatcom Community Foundation Project Neighborly grant, will also include a media workshop led by Salish Current News Editor Sam Fletcher on how participants can effectively express their views on the budget and City priorities in letters to the editor and opinion essays.
The City will hold three public hearings in October and November when residents can comment on the city budget.
Forrest Longman, Deputy Administrator at City of Bellingham, is an experienced public finance professional focused on budgeting and finance as tools for policy implementation. A 24-year resident of Bellingham, he joined city government in 2017. Previously, he held public policy and fiscal management roles at Whatcom County and the City of Seattle. An alumnus of Western Washington University, he also holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington.
Salish Current News Editor Sam Fletcher is a journalism graduate of Western Washington University and has reported for the Columbia Basin Herald, the Whidbey News-Times, Earth Island Journal, Atlas Obscura and others.
Event Details:
- Date: Oct 7 and Oct 14
- Time: 6 pm-7:30 pm
- Location: Bellingham Senior Activity Center 315 Halleck St, B'ham, WA 98225
