By Julie Graham
The largest single employer in Whatcom County doesn't pollute Bellingham Bay, produce aluminum, refine oil or pay property taxes.
More than 13,400 people work at or attend Western Washington University, the county's largest employer, according to the Bellingham-Whatcom Chamber of Commerce.
Through payroll, living expenses, general spending and taxes, students and staff are a steady source of economic support to Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Western "contributed approximately $153 million in income and $50 million in retail sales to the Whatcom County economy based on its operation during the 1996-97 year," according to Professor David Merrifield, director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western.
Western's payroll is a big part of the equation. The university employs 542 full-time equivalent faculty, 1,244 staff members and 2,400 students, for a total of 4,186 employees.
The payroll for the last academic year was $59.4 million.
In addition to the payroll, professors like Mary Ann Hendryson in the College of Business and Economics, pay property taxes, sales taxes and other taxes and fees. Out-of-towners attend conferences at the university, and WWU attracts families and friends of students and prospective students.
Although the university is exempt from paying property taxes, and pays no business and occupation taxes, it does provide the city of Bellingham with nearly $700,000 a year in other taxes, sales taxes and utility taxes.
Bellingham received $431,326 for water and sewer services and $233,490.54 in utility taxes during the 1997-98 academic year. The utility tax payment represents 6 percent of the $3.9 million Western paid for electricity, natural gas and cable in the 1997-98 academic year.
The combined $664,817 could pay the 1998 base salary of 17 firefighters.
The money goes to the city's general fund, according to City Finance Director Lynn Carpenter. The general fund provides money for the police and fire departments, the public library, city court and museum, among others.
WWU provides little direct sales tax to the city, but spending by WWU students, faculty and staff helps to balance the ups and downs of Canadian trade, which is important to the city and the county, Carpenter said.
The Bellingham Herald lists the Canadian exchange rate every day. In the top right-hand corner of the business section, a maple leaf displays the Canadian dollar's worth against the U.S. dollar. Other papers, such as The Seattle Times, list the U.S. dollar's worth against various foreign currencies.
In Whatcom County, the Canadians come seeking bargains American retailers can provide.
When the Canadian dollar falls, as it did in 1997, Bellingham business hurts. During 1997, more than 18 million people crossed from Canada to Whatcom County, down nearly 10 million from 1991.
Merrifield estimated each penny of value in the exchange rate is worth up to $8 million in retail sales to the county economy over two years, all other things being equal.
While Canadian shopping fluctuates, "Western is always there," Carpenter said.
Student spending is also always there.
Western recommends students budget $568 per quarter to spend on personal and miscellaneous needs for the 1998-99 academic year.
The Student Financial Resources office said it deliberately suggests a higher sum than students will likely spend in order to help students get more financial aid.
The 11,655 students may not spend more than $2,000 each, but the average college student does buy groceries, gas, clothes and music; eats out; rents or goes to movies; drinks espresso and travels around Bellingham.
Student spending provides sales for local businesses, some of which target student consumers.
Whatcom Transportation Authority offers free passes at the beginning of fall quarter to encourage use of the bus system and routes many of its buses through the campus. Counting each direction as separate route, 23 of the WTA's 40 routes stop at Western.
The International House of Pancakes Restaurant off Samish Way gives a 10 percent discount for Western and Whatcom Community College students with college identification.
Stuart's Coffee House provides a place where students can both study and socialize.
"Last year, dead week and finals week, we were packed. I'm kind of looking forward to Christmas 'cause it'll be slower," said Tobias Barr, an employee at Stuart's since February.
The Sehome Haggen sees an increase of 25 percent in customers during the weeks just before and during college opening in the fall. The students "load up" at those times, said Eric Morgan, store manager.
"[Being close to Western] makes a big difference. We map out when opening day is, when finals are, when midterms are," Morgan said.
While most grocery stores see business jump dramatically for Christmas, the Sehome Haggen sees a smaller spike. Residents are buying more, but students are going home, said Morgan, himself a Western graduate.
"We're the highest beer-buying Haggen," he added.
Haggen wants the student business, he said. Students tend to buy easy, ready-to-eat items, usually higher priced, but they generally spend total smaller amounts, driving down the per customer sales amount.
"A college student will buy higher-priced items, but his total purchase will be lower than say, Mrs. Osmund doing her family grocery shopping," he said.
Faculty and staff also find the store's location convenient.
Janet Collins, the Huxley map librarian, said she often shops at Haggen because it's on the way home.
Faculty and staff, like students, often come from outside Whatcom County.
At least four members of the Classical and Foreign Languages department come from Europe. Two math professors are from Asia. One computer science professor is a British native.
In total, 61 Western faculty are not U.S. residents, said Penny Page, assistant to the provost.
Faculty and staff may rent or own homes, but the nature of their work requires they live in close proximity to the university. If they own a home, then they pay property taxes.
They may have another job or own their own business.
Economics Professor Pamela Whalley and her husband also own a small business in town, which means they pay a business and occupation tax. Their business, Fairhaven Laundry and Dry Cleaners, also employs four people.
The university itself is in a special tax situation.
All state-owned property is exempt from paying property taxes - currently about $13 per $1,000 of value in Whatcom County.
If the university was private or the land was residential, Whatcom County would collect approximately $2.5 million dollars in property taxes, according to the Whatcom County Assessor's Office.
This number includes all university properties within the county: the main campus on High Street, the Physical Plant on 26th Street and the Lakewood recreation center on Lake Whatcom.
Bellingham residents may not see this money, but they can see some non-economic impacts, conflicts between transient student living and year-round neighborhood communities.
Of the 11,655 students who attend Western, 7,136 live off-campus.
Student renters bring money to their landlords, but neighbors don't always appreciate the new residents.
This issue recently arose in 1997.
The construction of several four-bedroom duplexes in Happy Valley initiated a neighborhood campaign resulting in the City Council passing a law banning any new construction of duplexes with more than three bedrooms.
Higher population density, noise and increased traffic and parking cars are some problems student housing adds to residential neighborhoods, the 163 Happy Valley petitioners said.
The parking issue extends beyond student housing.
Students without university parking permits often park along roads near the university. Neighborhood residents at the south end of campus complained student commuters took all available parking places.
In July of 1997, the city council established a parking permit program for the Sehome and South Hill neighborhoods.
Western agreed to pay for the program's first three years of administrative costs.
Another issue, noise, can create enough of a problem for the police to get involved.
"It costs the city a small fortune to go out and deal with (parties)," said Bellingham Police Lt. Rick Sucee.
He estimated that it cost the city roughly $19,200 in overtime pay to mount an eight officer party patrol two nights of the first and last four weeks of the school year.
The impacts are not all negative, however.
Along with such hotly debated drawbacks, Western offers some little known benefits.
The university hosts or puts on several cultural events, such as symphonies, plays and concerts, each year and can draw big-name speakers like Jane Goodall, Adam Wehrbach and Cornel West.
Bellingham, Sehome and Ferndale high schools held their graduation ceremonies at Carver Gym, allowing more people to attend, said Diana Bakkom, director of Western's conference services.
University professors are experts in their fields and are often available as information resources.
Western's Wilson Library is a community resource, offering some resources the public library doesn't have, said Margaret Ziegler, head reference librarian at Bellingham Public Library.
"When the Bellingham library is considering a major reference purchase, I'll check at Western and the community college to see if it's already available in the community," she said. If the resource already exists, the library could use the money for a different purchase.
In addition to buying things, students also volunteer in the community. Michele Elledge, a junior, acts as a middle school program director at her church.
Merrifield works with economic impacts every day. He believes, however, Western's greatest impacts are the "value added to students not only in terms of economic earning power, but in the quality of life to both the student and the larger community over time."