it’s not due to the budget bill but I’m imaging scenarios like what’s happening with Cle Elum, WA (population 2,211 est.) currently
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Two weeks ago they filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy stemming from a $26 million settlement ($22 mil plus interest) to a developer who planned to build a 950-home planned community
jul 9, 2025, 10:19 pm • 5 0 • view
Cle Elum has an annual budget of $5 million
jul 9, 2025, 10:19 pm • 5 0 • view
The developer and Cle Elum entered an agreement in 2011 but the former held off until 2019 due to economic issues/market concerns. When the developer announced they wanted to build, they and the city got into a contract dispute over terms and the permitting process
jul 9, 2025, 10:19 pm • 5 0 • view
Long story short the developer sued and now we’re here. I don’t fully know what municipal bankruptcy proceedings look like but it feels existential imo
jul 9, 2025, 10:19 pm • 4 0 • view
News story here: www.king5.com/article/news...
jul 9, 2025, 10:19 pm • 4 0 • view
the thing one learns about municipal bankruptcy, growing up in the Rust Belt, is that no matter what happens to the municipal entity, it takes decades for the buildings to disappear (Detroit has lost 2/3 its population and been through municipal bankruptcy but it's very much still there)
jul 9, 2025, 10:35 pm • 3 0 • view
True. And Cle Elum’s also a prime stretch along I-90 fwiw
jul 9, 2025, 10:38 pm • 3 0 • view