Government
The City of Bellingham has a non-partisan strong-mayor, weak-council form of government. The directly elected mayor serves a four-year term. Six of the seven city council members are elected by ward for staggered four-year terms. The seventh council member is elected at-large every two years.
A municipal court judge is also elected for four-year terms.
The city maintains its own municipal police and fire department and operates the countywide Medic One medical emergency response service through an agreement with Whatcom County. According to Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2010, there were 282 violent crimes and 3,653 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 37 forcible rapes, 73 robberies and 170 aggravated assaults, while 589 burglaries, 2,931 larceny-thefts, 133 motor vehicle thefts and six arson defined the property offenses.
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Famous quotes containing the word government:
“I feel a sincere wish indeed to see our government brought back to it’s republican principles, to see that kind of government firmly fixed, to which my whole life has been devoted. I hope we shall now see it so established, as that when I retire, it may be under full security that we are to continue free and happy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“What is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“Which government is the best? The one that teaches us to govern ourselves.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)