FAQ

Initiative 2023-01

Raise the Minimum Wage

  • Bellingham has one of the highest costs of living in the state and needs a minimum wage that better reflects those realities. Rising prices in sectors that hit workers the hardest–housing, childcare, and food– have made the Washington State Minimum Wage insufficient, especially in Bellingham.

    The MIT Living Wage Calculator finds that today a living wage in Whatcom county is $17.47/hour for single adult and $36.55 for a single parent. This initiative, which will raise the local minimum wage to two dollars above the state minimum wage (currently at $15.74/hour), brings us closer in line with those realities.

  • It is straightforward and consistent. This reduces the difficulty of administration and enforcement. Many other cities have set a minimum wage rate that is independent of the state minimum wage. Our approach sets our local minimum wage at a dollar amount above the state minimum wage.

    Workers and employers will know the local minimum wage with very little need for ongoing publication and education. The City also will not need to do its own inflation adjustment. Our local minimum wage will go up automatically as the state minimum wage is adjusted annually.

  • Studies show that small and moderate increases in the minimum wage do not affect employment rates.

    It’s long been recognized by economists that workers are also consumers. Putting more cash in workers’ pockets increases local economic demand.

    Low-wage workers spend a larger share of their income on goods and services, which supports businesses right here.

  • No. Small and moderate increases in the minimum wage have had minimal or insignificant effects on prices in the jurisdictions where they have been adopted.

  • Probably not. In almost every possible combination of public benefit eligibility, this minimum wage increase results in higher overall income.

    A full-time minimum wage earner would ultimately earn more than $4,000 in additional income per year if this initiative passes.

    In the rare cases when benefits might be affected, workers typically end up earning far more at the end of the day. Today, most public benefits, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program allow for gradual increases in income.

  • Workers will have the right to pursue civil action remedies, both as individuals and together with their co-workers.

    The City will have the authority to inspect wage and employment records, fine violations as a civil infraction, and order injunctive relief, including the payment of underpaid wages.

    The initiative prohibits retaliation so that workers can advocate for their rights.

  • Our initiative encourages, but does not require, the City of Bellingham to pay the increased minimum wage. Initiatives in Bellingham cannot set city employee wages. When our initiative passes, we will work with labor partners and city council to pass an ordinance that would apply to city employees.

  • No. Several other cities in our state have already done this. Last year, Tukwila, WA, voted for a $19 minimum wage by an overwhelming 82.48%. This year Renton, WA, will join Bellingham in considering a local minimum wage increase. In other states with similarly high costs of living, a growing number of cities and counties have already enacted higher local minimum wages.

  • That is the plan! Costs of living are increasing across Whatcom. To stay in the loop, make sure you sign up for our email and texting lists.

FAQ

Initiative 2023-02

Protect Renters from Huge Rent Increase

  • Large rent increases have severe consequences. Thousands of Bellingham renters struggle to afford rent. More than half of Belliingham renters are cost-burdened and a third are severely cost burdened. Vacancy rates in Bellingham are chronically low. This means renters struggle to find new housing that they can afford.

    This causes families to lose their housing. The Government Office of Accountability finds that a hundred dollar increase in average rents leads to a 9% increase in homelessness. It makes sense why–when rent goes up significantly, especially all at once, renters who can no longer afford to stay in their homes may also not be able to afford the high costs of relocation. First and last month's rent, security deposits, and fees can wipe out savings, drive people into debt, and even lead to homelessness.

    Our policy, modeled on other successful ordinances, makes a crucial intervention to protect renters from the immediate consequences of rent gouging.

  • There are exemptions for transitional housing, properties with four or less units where the landlord lives on site, and tenancies of less than six months.

    Tenants will be able to benefit from this initiative if:

    • They request relocation assistance after their landlord raises rents by more than 8% in a single 12 month period; and

    • They move out of the property by the end of the 5 month relocation period.

  • Landlords have more freedom. Rent control and rent stabilization both place limits on how landlords set rents (both of which have been preempted by the state legislature, so cities cannot yet take that step).

    Economic displacement relocation assistance, on the other hand, explicitly allows any rent increase, it just requires that the costs of economic displacement be borne by the landlord raising rents instead of the tenants being displaced.

  • Relocation assistance is only paid out if tenants request that assistance and only remains available to them if they relocate by the end of the relocation period.

    This means that tenants who are happy and able to continue paying below-market rents, even after a single large percentage increase, are unlikely to take advantage of this right. With vacancy rates at an all-time low and rents at an all-time high, tenants will likely only take advantage of relocation assistance if it is truly their best option.

    Tenants deserve stability. Large single rent increases should not be the norm and at very least tenants should not have to pay the price of their own displacement.

  • The initiative allows any renter who’s rights under this ordinance are violated to seek civil action remedy, including a monetary amount twice the amount of relocation assistance.

    It also makes a violation of this ordinance a civil infraction with fines that escalate with each infraction.

  • Both Seattle and Portland implemented similar protections for renters facing extreme rent increases.

    While this initiative improves upon the policy design in both ordinances, the Seattle and Portland policies both have a strong track record of providing a lifeline for hundreds of tenants, while producing no negative market consequences.