City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-07 — Streamlining the City's Contract Review Process to Allow Electronic Signatures (Whatcom County)

What it does

Proposed Charter Amendment Proposition 2026-07 would streamline the contract process and allow for electronic signatures. This amendment would streamline and update the City's contract process to allow the use of electronic signatures. Currently, the Charter requires the Mayor to sign all city contracts, bonds, and instruments of any kind, and for the finance director to attest the Mayor’s signature and affix the City's seal to the document. This amendment would remove these inefficient and out-of-date requirements, authorize the Mayor's designee to sign contracts, and allow the City to use electronic signatures. Should this amendment be enacted into law?

A YES vote means

Bellingham's charter would let the Mayor's designee sign city contracts, allow electronic signatures, and drop the requirement that the finance director attest the Mayor's signature and affix the City seal.

A NO vote means

The Mayor would still have to sign all city contracts, with the finance director attesting and affixing the City seal.

Needed to pass

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Left–right lean

Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Background

The Bellingham City Council proposed this charter amendment by Resolution No. 2026-16, passed July 13, 2026.

According to the resolution, the charter now requires the Mayor to sign all city contracts, bonds and instruments and the Finance Director to attest the Mayor's signature; the City signs over 1,000 such documents a year, a number that has doubled over the past ten years.

The resolution states the Council found that letting the Mayor delegate contract signing and dropping the attestation requirement would use City resources more efficiently and allow tools such as electronic signatures, amending Article V, Section 2 and Article 8, Section 6 of the charter.

Put on the ballot by Bellingham City Council, July 13, 2026 (Resolution No. 2026-16).

From official source.

Next elections here

• 2028 presidential election · Who has filed so far, from FEC filings

Also on Whatcom County ballots

• City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-06 — Authorizing the City's Salary Commission to Set the Mayor's Salary
• City of Bellingham Initiative 26-01 — Prohibition of Algorithmic Price-Fixing in the Rental Market
• City of Lynden Proposition No. 2026-05 — Levy Lid Lift for Public Safety and Essential Community Services

All Whatcom County races and measures →

Quick answers

What does a YES vote on City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-07 mean?

Bellingham's charter would let the Mayor's designee sign city contracts, allow electronic signatures, and drop the requirement that the finance director attest the Mayor's signature and affix the City seal.

What does a NO vote on City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-07 mean?

The Mayor would still have to sign all city contracts, with the finance director attesting and affixing the City seal.

How many votes does City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-07 need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on City of Bellingham Proposition No. 2026-07?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

When is the vote?

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.