I would like to address the recent rumor regarding the Black Diamond City Council allegedly considering sacrificing our city’s police department for the sake of tightening the city budget.
In open discussion, City Council members discussed the option of outsourcing our local police support with neighboring cities resulting in either drastically cutting back our police department or eliminating it all together. The council cannot deny that this was true.
I believe the fact is they are in fact, seriously looking at cutting expenditures in this department in order to find funding for their Prop 1 measure, and the reason they back tracked on this attempt and denied the rumored allegations, was due to the uproar it created from the community during the last council meeting. The council needs Prop 1 to pass in order for them to gain the all-inclusive power they desire.
This controversy about the council and the police department provides the residents of Black Diamond with a glimpse of what’s yet is to come from the City Council, should they gain control of our city.
Our city is in the red about $250,000 for the 2013 budget, and despite this the City Council voted to place Proposition 1 on the current ballot. This action to make Prop 1 a ballot measure cost the city — all BD residents — $5,000. Furthermore, if Prop 1 passes, the changes to our city government will include the cost of a newly hired city manager, a yearly estimated cost of $150,000 to $200,000.
Additionally, nearly every ordinance, contract, council rule and Black Diamond personnel manual will have to be changed to reflect the new form of government, an exorbitant expense for staff and council.
It appears the city council is just now getting around to understanding just how hard it’s going to be to afford this new and unnecessary form of city government.
In January of this year the current council voted to rescind the Community Facilities District approved by the previous council. Part of that agreement was for YarrowBay to pay for the construction of a new fire station to serve the south and southeast part of the city: old town, Lawson Hills, Morgan Creek, and Diamond Village.
That new station would have cost approximately $3 million and very likely would be under construction today.
The City Councils’ decision to stop the construction of this station created legal fees and work study fees that cost the city over $8,000.
Let me repeat this: the current city council spent $8,000 to stop the construction of a free $3 million fire station.
In March of this year the council voted to authorize the Mayor to file a Declaratory Judgment against YarrowBay. Fortunately, the Mayor refused, but the legal cost of the council vote was $6,000. Do you want this inexperienced council to run our city with their history of unaccountable spending? This council does not appear to care that they don’t have the answers of where the money will come to pay for their actions. I don’t want this type of leadership taking control and making decisions for me and my family.
This will come at too high a price. As past experience in politics has shown, when there are no resources left to pull from, the layman has to pay through fewer services, increased taxes or both.
No thank you!
And finally consider this, the four most recently appointed council members voted in favor of creating Prop 1 and then stated publicly that they were not advocating either side of city government, they merely wanted to give citizens a choice.
For the record, one of these four council members was seen putting up signs in support of Prop. 1.
Save our city. vote no on Prop 1.
Lynn Sickles
Black Diamond
