Voters on both sides of the annexation dividing line will decide the issue on August 21, a date set by the Federal Way City Council last May.

The August 21 date coincides with the state primary election.

The combined population of the area south and east of the city is estimated to be just over 20,000 and the total area is approximately 4,400 acres.

Leading up to the election date in 2007, the city and county has been working on a joint effort to provide information to residents of the annexation area regarding differences in service levels and taxes and fees between the city and county so they may make an educated decision when they vote.

The outreach program has included informational mailings, community meetings, open houses, and information posted to both the city and county websites.

A simple majority of votes decides the question of annexation.

If the annexation vote in August is successful, the City Council has indicated a preference for an effective date of July 1, 2008.

The months between the vote and the effective date will be used to hire and train staff, purchase equipment, add office and facility capacity, and coordinate with King County officials regarding transfer of service responsibilities.

The city has outlined its reasoning for seeking annexation into several categories.

First, state law, as enumerated in the Growth Management Act (GMA) and regionally adopted policies, call for cities rather than counties to provide local governmental services to urban areas such as these. This area is within the city's Potential Annexation Area (PAA), which is similar to an urban growth area. The city has conducted considerable pre-planning in this area with the understanding that at some point in the future, the area will likely annex to the city.

Second, from a practical perspective, the annexation area is already part of the larger Federal Way community.

People living in the annexation area shop in Federal Way. They use the city's transportation system and parks, just as city residents use roads and occasionally visit parks within the unincorporated area.

The annexation area is within the Federal Way School District boundaries. The area is served by the same fire department, library district, and utility providers that serve the city.

Third, high quality municipal services can be provided to residents of the area for roughly the same taxes and fees. King County has steadily decreased local governmental service levels over the last several years and will continue to do so, due to the county's well-publicized budget problems.

The city provides a higher level of police service, with regard to response times and patrol officers per 1,000 residents.

King County has recently ended recreational programming, while the city offers a wide variety of youth and adult recreational activities.

City buiding permit and other permitting services are located at Federal Way City Hall, while King County provides those services from offices located in Renton.

The city provides street and storm system maintenance on a regular basis and street overlays based on a city-wide pavement management rating system.

Fourth, annexation allows the city to regulate development activity that impacts city facilities and service levels. New residential and commercial development in the unincorporated area proposed for annexation affects traffic, public safety services, parks, and other services provided by the city. If the area is annexed, the city will be in a position to require developers to mitigate for these impacts as development activity occurs.

The last reason is a fiscal consideration. Historically, the main barrier to annexation of areas such as this has been financial.

Predominately residential areas such as these do not typically generate the tax revenue necessary to provide governmental services at municipal levels.

Washington and King County, recognizing this barrier, have offered annexation-related financial incentives to cities that agree to annex large residential areas. The effect of these incentives is that annexations of the subject area becomes revenue-neutral to the city rather than revenue-negative, as it has been in the past.

The city will be able to provide governmental services to the area at existing service levels without raising taxes.