Black Diamond's budget crisis is over, but development fight continues

The city of Black Diamond has a 2017 budget at last.

The City Council voted to approve the budget Thursday night after being divided for months.

TRANSCRIPT

Black Diamond needed a budget by the end of the month or it risked a city shutdown that would have affected everything: police, fire department and water supply.

The state’s health department told KUOW it had gone so far as to run through a scenario with Black Diamond’s water chief, a scenario that involved a “don’t drink the water” order that would have shut down businesses.

But all that is in the past now.

Black Diamond had a crisis over the budget because it’s having a wider crisis about a massive development planned for their community.

Six-thousand houses are expected to nearly quadruple the city’s population. The City Council has been divided over whether it’s too late to reduce the scope of the development.

With the budget wrapped up, let's see where they get on that issue.