There is one reason John Kragseth has always voted against annexing his neighborhood into Edmonds.
“Taxes,” he said.
He believes his taxes would increase if his Esperance community joined the city. But city officials say taxes will not increase.
Nevertheless, most of Kragseth’s neighbors historically have chosen to remain under Snohomish County’s jurisdiction and out of the city’s clutches. The small area in south Edmonds, which is surrounded by the city, has rejected numerous annexation ballot measures, most recently in 1997.
In early 2005, residents again will have to vote against annexation to keep it from happening. Edmonds plans to act under a new state law that allows cities to annex unincorporated “islands” without requiring approval from the people who live in the area.
City officials will begin proceedings in January, and the unincorporated area could join Edmonds as soon as April.
“It makes sense to move forward and just get this completed,” city development services director Duane Bowman said.
The city will first approach Snohomish County for an agreement on how services would be transferred, Bowman said. If the county and its boundary review board approve, Esperance residents would then have 45 days to gather petition signatures equivalent to 15 percent of those who voted in the Nov. 2 general election to get a referendum against the annexation on the ballot.
City officials, the boundary review board and the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office can’t say yet how many signatures that will be. However, if enough signatures aren’t gathered, the annexation would become automatic, Bowman said.
There are other ways for annexation to occur, most of them taxpayer-initiated. The city has always preferred to let residents decide, but it makes no sense to leave “holes” within the city unincorporated, officials said.
“Eventually, it’s going to happen out there just because it’s surrounded by Edmonds,” Mayor Gary Haakenson said.
The previous, larger Esperance area was chipped away by small annexations in the 1990s. The area left is just one square mile bordered by 220th Street SW to the north; 92nd Avenue W. and Edmonds Way to the west; by 236th, 234th and 233rd streets SW to the south; and Highway 99 and 76th Avenue W. to the east.
If the area is annexed, property owners would no longer pay a county road tax or a tax to Fire District 1 to cover its contract with Edmonds for fire service to the area, Edmonds finance director Dan Clements said. That would reduce taxes by $512 a year for the owner of a $350,000 home, he said.
Utility users in Edmonds pay a 5.75 percent tax on their water, sewer, cable, electrical and phone bills, which averages out to about $150 a year, Clements said, so property owners should still come out ahead.
Haakenson said police protection, not taxes, is the concern most cited by the increasing number of people asking him about annexation. They want a greater police presence, he said.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies patrol Esperance from the south county precinct in Mill Creek. The Edmonds Police Department already responds to requests for help from the sheriff’s office on crime-in-progress calls and serious felonies, Edmonds Police Chief David Stern said.
Kragseth, the Esperance property owner, sees this as an advantage.
“We get both now,” the 30-year resident said, adding that Edmonds police frequently cruise past his home on 84th Avenue W.
The city would likely make other improvements in the area, to roads, the storm-water system and parks, officials said.
“Parks in that area definitely could use some improvement,” Bowman said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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