Lynden operates with a mayor-council form of government. The part-time mayor (Jack Louws since 2002) is assisted by a full-time city administrator (Bill Verwolf since October 2001) and professionals who head the city's public works, parks, planning, finance, police and fire departments. The City Council's seven members receive compensation on a per-meeting basis. The mayor and council members are elected to four-year terms in odd-numbered years. Lynden recently increased emphasis on maintenance of its major arterials. Construction projects are planned in 2005 and the next several years. Plans for Lynden's future development also are being developed and updated. For more information about Lynden's city government, call (360) 354-4270 or visit www.lyndenwa.org.
The Lynden Police Department, headed by Chief Jack Foster, has 14 full-time officers, four civilian employees, three reserve officers, and eight volunteers. Lynden historically has enjoyed a low crime rate. The crime rate dropped from 27.1 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2001 to 24.8 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2003. New statistics just out show the crime rate in Lynden has fallen even farther to 22.3 crimes per thousand in 2005. That is a 17.7% decrease in crime in the last 5 years. Violent crimes remain steady 0.6 per 1,000. City of Lynden dedicated its new state of the art police station, located at 203 19th Street, to Officer Jack G. Martin on June 3, 2006. For more information about Lynden’s police department, call (360) 354-2828.
The Lynden Fire Department is operated by Chief Gary Baar, two carrier fire captains, and a support services manager. About 40 Lynden residents provide fire-fighting and emergency medial services as voluntary members of the departments, although they are compensated on a per-call basis. Lynden’s fire department is located at 215 4th Street adjacent to the City Hall Annex. For more information about the fire department, call (360) 354-4400 or visit http://www.lyndenwa.org/FireDept/FireDept.htm.
