The Black Diamond Finance Department is responsible for safeguarding and protecting the City's assets insuring maximum utilization of revenues, providing financial support to City departments and recording and reporting accurate and timely financial information to the State, elected officials and to the Citizens of Black Diamond.

This Department provides vital services to the City of Black Diamond such as financial planning and reporting, accounting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, utility billing, payroll processing, cost accounting, business licensing, utility tax collections, cash and investment management and debt service.

Finance prepares the Annual Budget, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Capital Improvement Program reports and monthly financial updates.

Mayene Miller
Finance Director
(360) 886-2560 Ext. 207
mmiller@ci.blackdiamond.wa.us

Jana King
Deputy Finance Director
(360) 886-2560 Ext. 205

Tracey Redd
Senior Accountant
(360) 886-2560 Ext. 208

FINANCE NEWS

Finance Department News - June 2011

2012 - 2017 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
The Capital Improvement Plan is a six -year roadmap identifying present and future capital and infrastructure needs for the City.  Generally speaking, capital improvements are expensive and some projects cover multiple years.   Because the CIP is a plan rather than a budget, actual authorization for capital project spending for the upcoming year (in this case 2012) comes through Council when they adopt the Annual Budget in December.

Real Estate Excise Taxes (REET) are collected from property sales within the city limits and are earmarked specifically for capital projects.  However in order to spend that money, a jurisdiction must have the project identified in a Capital Improvement Plan.  So not only is the CIP a great overall planning tool for the City, it is also required in order to access REET monies.   Additionally, historical need is often required when the City applies for grants.  This need is documented in the CIP, as some projects get ‘pushed out’ from one year to the next due to lack of adequate funding.
The CIP Plan this year is the update to the CIP adopted and approved by Council June 17, 2010.  We are midway through the process so far in 2011 for the 2012 – 2017 Capital Plan, with work studies and public hearings scheduled for late June and early July with adoption scheduled for July 21st. 

Final 2011 Budget
The Final 2011 Budget was adopted December 16, 2010.  The 2011 budget was a challenge to balance.   The City changed medical plans in 2011 resulting in cost savings, and non-union employees are picking up a higher percentage of the costs for dependents. The City is still using furlough for non-union, non-utility employees, yet the days furloughed have been reduced from 13 to 5.  As in 2010, the Police Commander and City Administrator positions remain vacant and frozen.  The 2011 Final Budget is available for viewing in PDF format on this web page. (see above)
A budget amendment, Ordinance No. 11-959, passed on April 7, 2011 included housekeeping budget changes such as adjusting beginning balances to actuals, incorporating new resolutions requiring spending, and including carryovers on projects.  Also the Criminal Justice Fund was moved to the General Fund due to changes in the State Auditor’s reporting requirements.  The General Fund ending balance is now projected to be $68,570.