Please publish this for informational review by the citizens of Burien on the upcoming meeting on the White Center annexation proposal by the city of Burien:
Public hearing before the boundary review board is scheduled for Jan. 9th and 10th.
Some issues to consider--- including the budget reduction...$400,000 below last year with $100,000 allocated to annexation

Costs too high
1) Infrastructure support, capital improvements, human services, public safety concerns
2) Items missing from budget
3) State sales tax credit in jeopardy
4) Fire district costs (new aid car, retirement account service) plus previous agreement from 1st annexation

Violates the GMA
1) RCW 36.70A.020(1) Encourage development in urban areas where adequate public facilities and services exist or can be provided in an efficient manner
Due to Burien’s lowering their budget by several hundred thousand dollars and cutting costs for police services, without the sales tax credit, Burien would be unable to provide adequate police services to the area providing they would have to increase their contract with King County to $3 million.
Fire district needs have not been budgeted into the Berk report as the need for a new aid car and servicing the retirement account wasn’t made apparent to the council until after completion of the Berk report.  These items have not been budgeted and no public disclosure of documentation provided by the city showing how the city can budget these needs has been provided.

Again, budget cuts have been made and there is no evidence revenue will increase enough in the future or be collected beyond projected revenues from the area Y to cover these newly discovered costs.
2) RCW 36.70A.020(12) Public facilities and services.  Ensure that those public facilities and services necessary to support development shall be adequate to serve the development at the time the development is available for occupancy and use without decreasing current service levels below locally established minimum standards.

For the above reasons, and the following indicate the established service levels cannot be maintained.
Fire and police services may not be affordable for Burien and potentially will not remain at current levels.
Street repair, surface water management, curbs, gutters represent $34 (Berk) to $77 (Seattle) million in infrastructure needs that have not been budgeted by the Berk report and are missing from the yearly budget of service needs.

Human service needs, court costs, prosecution, jail, etc., in this area with a higher crime rate and statistics than present Burien needs have not been properly considered.  There is a gap of 1.5 million between the Seattle report on annexation and the Berk report. Additionally with the recent Burien budget cut made to police services, it is indicated the level will drop rather than increase as needed.
Without the sales tax credit there is no way Burien can afford to annex and even with the credit there are serious doubts.

Service levels for parks have been understated in Berk and one park is missing from their analysis.
 The city of Burien does not have the right to make future promises for levels of services that currently do not exist in the city, issues that are not currently in city master plans and it cannot propagandize why residents in Area Y should vote to join the city of Burien.

Also, the city does not have the right to hire PR firms do any of underlined and highlighted above-mentioned items. Meetings in Area Y must strictly be limited to be only informational in nature.
Additionally, the Burien City manager does not have the authority to go to the Unincorporated North Highline Council and promise items and services to the citizens of Area Y that are not publicly known to the current citizens of Burien.

John and Linda Poitras
Burien