Black Diamond - Change our form of Government - Why ???

PROPOSITION 1 CHANGE OUR CURENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT!!??  The City Council has proposed that Black Diamond abandon it’s present form of electing our Mayor and allow them to APPOINT a mayor from among the council members.  This “Mayor” would have no administrative authority and would be a figurehead, only. Admin-istrative or “Executive” authority would pass to the hands of the Council, who would appoint their own City Manager  This City Manager, who is NOT ELECTED, but HIRED, with an employment CONTRACT. He/She would administer city staff (instead of an elected Mayor) at the discretion of the coun-cil. A citizen who has a grievance with the city would seek resolution from the City Manager, and ultimately have to petition the Council to correct problems!  City Managers historically have a high turnover. Settling their employment contract will cost exorbitant amounts of your tax dollars! Does this sound efficient to you? Does this sound like a form of government that is lean and re-sponsive? We think that Black Diamond’s 50 years of Mayor/Council government is a more Con-stitutional approach, protecting citizens with checks and balances that the opposition would sweep away! We are concerned with the abuse of power that can result from a concentration of authority in a single branch of our government. WHY?!!!  The City Council believes that by controlling the Mayor that they can control development in Black Diamond. This is an illusion promoted by people who have sued the City and the devel-oper, YarrowBay. They continue to lose in court because we are governed by LAWS and not emotion.  Our Mayor has had the courage to stand on the side of the law and administer the city with all residents in mind. Anti-Growth Activists want to change the form of city government to cir-cumvent her. We believe that this is short-sighted logic, and that a change in our form of gov-ernment should be about solutions to the process, not anger toward an individual. Join with us as we respond with respect, with foresight, and sound judgment in considering a change of government to the City of Black Diamond. We appeal to your intelligence and to your sense of justice in voting NO to a proposition that will ultimately injure the City of Black Dia-mond. Please join us. VOTE NO ON PROP. 1 BLACK DIAMOND PROUD www.VoteNoBDProp1.com Stay connected with PROUD: ProudBlackDiamond@gmail.com Don’t Lose Your Right to Vote for Mayor!! YOU WILL LOSE! LOSE: The right to vote for your city mayor. The mayor will be appointed by the city council. By appointing, rather than electing a mayor, political leadership will be abolished. The city will no longer have a political spokesperson with a high degree of visibility. LOSE: Essential police protection to cover the expense. The city council will select a city manager. Typically the cost of a city manager is $150,000 or more per year. This cost must come from the General Fund, which allows no option other than to cut police services. LOSE: The separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. In most cities an elected mayor is vested with the veto power, and can serve as a check on an unlawful council decision. The separation of powers, veto power and checks and balances in your city government WILL BE LOST. LOSE: A swift return to the current Mayor-Council form of city government. If the form of city government is changed, a mandatory period of 6 years is required before another change. Form of Government Our current form of government is the most popular form for 81% of cities in Washington State! Total Mayor-Council Council-Manager Commission Washington Cities 281 228 (81%) 52 (18.5%) 1(.5%) Washington cities that have CHANGED TO our current form of Mayor-Council government: Bonney Lake (1973) Anacortes (1982) Goldendale (1994) Ferndale (1999) Spokane (2001) Ephrata (2003) Ocean Shores (2007) Federal Way (2009) VOTE NO ON PROP. 1 BLACK DIAMOND PROUD www.VoteNoBDProp1.com Stay connected with PROUD: ProudBlackDiamond@gmail.com

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Looking forward to this summer on Lake Sawyer, I love being a Black Diamond resident, a nice place to live.

Black Diamond City Council

Black Diamond City Council wants to sue YarrowBay, who is going to pay for this?

When is Spring going to get here

Free kitten to good home, Lake Sawyer area neighbor has adorable kittens they are trying to find good homes for. Please contact Renee at rlbrealey@gmail.com if interested.

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