North Highline annexation will cost Burien taxpayers more money to maintain the current level of city services regardless of whether the area is annexed by Burien or Seattle, city staffers said last week.

The Burien City Council is considering establishing a Potential Annexation Area (PAA) to its Comprehensive Plan amendment docket that will cover the North Highline unincorporated area.

This area includes the neighborhoods of White Center, Boulevard Park, Top Hat, Beverly Park, Salmon Creek and a small portion of South Park.

If a PAA is established at the council’s Monday, Dec. 19, meeting, when lawmakers are expected to act on this proposal, Seattle and other cities would not be able to annex this area -- unless North Highline voters eventually were to reject Burien.

Many Burien residents, however, have expressed concerns that annexation of North Highline will mean more money paid out of their pockets to extend services to cover the wider area.

Results of a recent study of the impacts of annexing North Highline, which were presented to council members Nov. 28, indicated the action could cost Burien taxpayers an additional $175 per household per year.

That, according to the study, is what would be required to maintain current service levels within the existing city limits and extend services to the newly annexed area.

City Community Development Director Scott Greenberg said Burien would face an initial revenue shortfall of $2.5 million to pay for basic services, with an additional $2.5 million needed for capital projects.

But if Seattle were to annex North Highline instead, it could be even more expensive for Burien residents who would pay an estimated additional $134 to $317 per household per year.

That, according to the study, is because Burien would lose current financial benefits of sharing police and fire services with the unincorporated area.

As a result, the city would face new costs of $1.3 million to $3 million per year to fund these services, and the Burien/Normandy Park Fire District would need to spend up to $3 million per year to fund fire services and build a new station, said Greenberg.

“Response times for fire and aid emergency services will get worse” if Seattle annexes North Highline, he said, noting “this would not be good” if someone was having a heart attack or other emergency.

Many Burien residents have inquired why Burien is interested now in going forward with the potential annexation, said Greenberg.

“The reason Burien is so heavily involved is that we’ve recognized the issue early on, in 2001, that police and fire services could be degraded.

“This is the heart of the matter for Burien residents. The benefit of maintaining the city’s current level of fire and police services. o ignore that issue would have been irresponsible.”

If Seattle annexes North Highline, other services could be affected as well, such as the water district that Burien shares with North Highline.

Some council members have stated that North Highline residents have been kept informed of these issues, yet Burien residents will be the most affected.

Therefore, they argue, there should be community meetings for concerned Burien residents.

Greenberg stated that door-to-door surveys were conducted this past year and more than 50 percent of those contacted were aware of the annexation issue.

Yet many misconceptions are still held by residents, he noted.

One is the perception of White Center as a high crime area.

“In reality, the crime rate is slightly lower in White Center than Burien,” Greenberg observed.

Another misconception is that if the Burien Council approves the PAA that a definite annexation will come in the near future.

This is “not true,” Greenberg declared.

“Designation of a PAA is not approving an annexation. There is a lot of work yet to be done.”

He said that he can see why Burien residents are concerned about doubling the city’s population, but that maintaining current levels of services is too important to ignore.

“Right now the city is focused on gathering data. There will be more time over the next year for community meetings.”

If the Burien City Council eventually takes official action to annex part or all of the unincorporated North Highline area, city residents will have no final say in the matter.

At that point, the decision would rest with North Highline voters who would decide whether to become part of Burien or remain apart.