The Annexation Report

Last week there were two interesting stories in the Tribune about local annexations.

First, citizens of Ruston are upset that their Mayor had met with the Mayor of Tacoma to talk about annexing Ruston into Tacoma. Actually, they're mostly upset that they didn't know about the meeting, even after a Public Disclosure Request, but not a lot of them like the idea, either.

Ruston is fighting the same trouble as other suburban cities: without sales tax revenue, largely residential towns and cities don't have enough to support a city government. The move of Ruston in to Tacoma could make a lot of sense for both Tacoma and Ruston. For Tacoma, the tax revenue is certainly good, and for Ruston they can tap into better services.

The big sticking point: can Ruston keep its identity and autonomy if they are part of Tacoma? I would hope that if the city is pro-active and addresses the vital concern of residents' identity, Ruston could become a model for future annexation, including Fircrest and UP, both of which can project a long term fight of tax income vs. providing services.

Ruston could be given a strong neighborhood council which could vote on building standards, streetscapes, speed limits, and other local issues. I could see this working very well for cities that want to preserve their ability to address what their area looks like while being folded into the central city.

It looks like the issue might be dead for awhile, but it is a good one to continue discussing.

In other news, Puyallup is moving forward with their attempt to annex "North Puyallup" into Puyallup proper. Good for them. Of course, one of the benefits of aggressive annexation is controlling sprawl, and Puyallup is already the King of Sprawl. Witness Meridian.