Editor’s Note: Clarified how much money the City of Bellingham is receiving from the Dept. of Homeland Security. Added some details about the concerns council members had for conditions for the grant funding. MBN regrets the error.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Bellingham has received a portion of more than $32 million in security funding ahead of the World Cup.

The city council voted unanimously Monday, June 1 at their regular meeting to authorize acceptance of grant funding from the Dept. of Homeland Security. Mayor Kim Lund will accept the $236,212 in funds on the city’s behalf.

The money will pay for Bellingham Police staff overtime and equipment including drones to cover FIFA World Cup-related events in the city.

According to Deputy Police Chief Jay Hart, their concerns inside the city will revolve around the six games showing at Kulshan Trackside and a block party on Commercial Street.

In a council committee meeting earlier in the day, Hart relayed the anticipated security concerns for Bellingham.

“Due to these events, [the department] believes that there’s a potential for large crowds and traffic-related issues which in turn could bring significant security risks on those days,” he said. “We also anticipate an additional layer of crowding and traffic-related issues due to our proximity to the border and the expected increase in in FIFA fans traveling through Bellingham to arrive either a the Vancouver FIFA site or at the Seattle FIFA site.”

This comes as the city also received grant funding from Washington’s military department to acquire extra equipment for the events.

During the committee meeting, Councilmember Lisa Anderson asked if accepting the fund meant the city would have to agree to uphold policy from the federal government that Bellingham has previously engaged in litigation against.

Deputy City Attorney James Erb said that the city would not need to agree to changing their stances on issues related to immigration and other policy.