Financial problems have pushed the Snohomish County town of Gold Bar to the brink of extinction - at least as a local government.

Finances were discussed at Tuesday night's city council meeting, and Mayor Joe Beavers says officials will have to decide by early January whether disincorporation is their only option. Residents could vote in March.

The city has run up legal bills from lawsuits over public records requests. It also apparently was the victim of hackers who took $450,000 over the past year.

Gold Bar was a timber town when it incorporated in 1910. Residents packed a city council meeting last July and spoke passionately against dissolving the town. But earlier this month voters rejected a tax levy to help pay legal bills.