Gold Bar, a Washington state town founded a century ago as a gold prospectors' camp in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, may ask residents to consider disincorporation to avoid having to file for bankruptcy, its mayor said yesterday, Reuters reported. Mayor Joe Beavers said that Gold Bar would otherwise spend roughly a sixth of its $550,000 general fund, or about $90,000, out of a total $1.4 million annual budget, to defend itself this year against a slew of mostly recall and public records lawsuits. Of 15 lawsuits filed since 2009 - all but three filed by the same person - several tried to recall Beavers as mayor or attempted to unseat two other city council members while most of the remainder were public records suits. Town leaders are slated to finalize Tuesday whether residents will vote in November to disassemble Gold Bar's government or pay higher taxes in an "excess levy," at a rate equal to $200 for a home assessed at $200,000. That would raise about $113,000. If voters reject both options, the town would file for chapter 9 bankruptcy, Beavers said.
