Whatcom County official refuses calls to resign, welcomes inquiry

Council members were blindsided 

Sidhu, in the letter to council members Tuesday, confirmed that he did not bring the issue before the council, but instead worked alongside the county’s human resources and legal teams to ensure county policies and procedures were followed.  

“We acknowledge that Council did not participate nor make decisions on the outcome of the situation outlined in the recent article. The Executive, through HR, Legal, and staff is in charge of making personnel decisions and ensuring policies are followed. We take this responsibility very seriously and I want to assure you that the unique facts of the situation and timing of decisions played a role in how it was ultimately handled. Always with the goal of supporting staff and the county as a whole,” Sidhu stated in the letter. 

Instead, the county helped Hutchings secure a new position with a glowing “letter of introduction” to the City of Lynden, where Hutchings now works as the public works director. 

Hutchings was confirmed by the Lynden City Council as public works director in May 2023. On Tuesday, Lynden City Administrator John Williams said the city was not aware of any allegations against Hutchings until it was first reported by Cascade PBS. 

“The City hired Mr. Hutchings in June 2023, following a thorough hiring and background check process. This process included background checks conducted by both internal and external agencies. No indications of any misconduct allegations against Mr. Hutchings were found in any of the background checks. 

“Since then, the City has learned that an investigation and review was recently concluded by the County, which found that Mr. Hutchings did not violate County policies against sexual harassment,” he said. 

The county’s outside investigation was never finalized, and “absent a response” from Hutchings, the county declined to issue any findings, according to a letter sent by the county to Hutchings on Feb. 20, 2024 and obtained by CDN. 

In his prepared letter to the council Tuesday, Sidhu stood by the content of the Hutchings’ letter of introduction, which he called a “difficult” decision. 

“Ultimately, we do not believe that a person is solely defined by their mistakes, and Mr. Hutchings had faced the very real consequence of losing his job,” Sidhu stated. “We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision.” 

The November settlement, paid with money in the county’s Tort Fund, was authorized by the prosecuting attorney’s office, the county confirmed. The county manages liabilities with other counties through the Washington Counties Risk Pool, and the settlement was within Whatcom’s $250,000 deductible. 

Jed Holmes, the Executive’s spokesperson, noted that the executive is not involved in negotiations or approving settlements and does not have authority to pay out of the county’s Tort Fund. 

Speaking with CDN on Wednesday, Donovan said that he was unsure of when or if such consultation for is required or discretionary, particularly with personnel matters that are not litigation. 

“That’s a question for the attorneys,” he said. 

Donovan raised the issue of the executive’s handling of the actions before and after Hutchings’ departure at the council’s meeting on Tuesday, April 23. 

“What I’m seeing in the email that Satpal sent to us is not consistent with what we’ve been hearing from our attorney, who was the attorney on the settlement, which raises some awkward questions,” Donovan said. 

He said that there might be a need to consider some things in the county’s charter with regards to where the council is liable for human-resource issues. 

“There was a failure here and I think we are in the dark about how this happened,” he said.