Burien should not annex the North Highline unincorporated area because the move would be too costly and would burden the city with new problems including a high crime rate.

This was the message Ron Seale, a member of the Burien Residents Against Annexation Political Action Committee, delivered to Burien Lions last week.

But, countered local resident Cherisse Luxa, what the anti-annexation group is not telling the public is that no annexation is the most costly option for the city.

"The Burien City Council should adopt all of North Highline as a potential annexation area (PAA)," Luxa continued.

"'Potential' is the key word," she said. It does not mean Burien eventually would annex all of the unincorporated area.

Seale said despite public comment that was "overwhelmingly against annexation" at a city council meeting last December, city lawmakers appear to be leaning toward at least a partial annexation.

"Now," he added, "they've taken away our ability to vote on this issue in an advisory capacity."

The PAC, which was established to give annexation opponents a voice, "is growing," Seale noted.

Luxa said a PAA would put "Burien in the driver's seat" by locking in the area and giving the city "time to study annexation as much as possible until it decided whether to annex all, part or none" of North Highline. "A PAA is not rushing into annexation."

Seale argued that the city's own figures show full annexation of North Highline will cost Burien more than $6 million a year, partial annexation over $3.5 million and the so-called "southern annexation option" $3 million, compared to a "manageable" deficit of under $900,000 by annexing none of the unincorporated area.

North Highline will cost King County $7.6 million more in services just this year than it will receive in revenue from the area.

This "very clearly indicates that the cheapest way to go is to annex none of North Highline," Seale declared.

"Adding people [to Burien] through annexation adds costs" to the city."

Luxa noted, however, opponents of annexation don't talk about an estimated annual deficit of $2.2 million that Burien will incur if Seattle annexes all of North Highline.

"This," she said, "is primarily due to the loss of shared services" that currently exists between the city and unincorporated North Highline-primarily fire and police services.

"It will cost the city $2.2 million to maintain those services."

Water and sewer rates paid by Burien residents also will increase if Seattle annexes all of North Highline and takes the customers in that area, Luxa added.