Local Wiki

Whatcom County

Official County Record

Official source, last checked Aug 25, 2026

County Commission / Council meets: Biweekly, every other Tuesday, 7:00 PM (hybrid format)
Meeting location: County Council Chambers, 1st floor, Whatcom County Courthouse, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, WA
County Auditor: Stacy Henthorn · shenthor@co.whatcom.wa.us
Agendas posted at: https://whatcom.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
County Council: Kaylee Galloway (District 1, Chair) · Elizabeth Boyle (District 2) · Jessica Rienstra (District 3) · Mark Stremler (District 4) · Ben Elenbaas (District 5) · Barry Buchanan (At-Large A) · Jon Scanlon (At-Large B) — a Home Rule Charter county with a separately elected County Executive

Other Local Government Here

Local government is layered — cities, counties, school districts, and special districts are separate, overlapping governments. Most residents are covered by several at once, and more may exist here than are listed below.

City: Bellingham

Other Known Local Governments Here

These local governments — special-purpose districts, and smaller incorporated cities and towns — are known to exist in this area, but haven’t been individually researched yet, so there’s no meeting info or contacts on file. Listed here as a starting point if you want to look into one yourself; where we could confirm an official website, the name links there. More may exist here than are listed.

Cities (6)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, 2024 · Website links from the official .gov registry and the Census Bureau’s 2022 Government Units listing, checked September 2026

School districts (6)

Bellingham School District
Blaine School District
Ferndale School District
Meridian School District
Mount Baker School District
Nooksack Valley School District

Source: NCES Common Core of Data (via Urban Institute), 2022 directory — regular school districts only

Emergency services districts (12)

Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 1 - Everson/Deming/Nooksack
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 11 - Lummi Island Fire Department
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 14 - Sumas
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 16 - Acme / Van Zandt
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 17 - Sandy Point
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 18 - South Lake Whatcom
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 19 - Glacier Fire and Rescue
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 21 - North Whatcom Fire and Rescue
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 4 - Bellingham
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 5 - Point Roberts - Formed 1967
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 7 - Ferndale
Whatcom County Fire Protection District No. 8 - Marietta

Source: MRSC Fire Protection Service Providers directory