According to Sammamish, if residents in the Klahanie annexation area vote to join the city, they will pay lower taxes and receive better services than they do now as part of unincorporated King County. In addition, no changes will be made to current Sammamish resident’s taxes or services.

“We’re required as part of the annexation process to provide a fiscal analysis,” City Manager Ben Yazici said. “I’m happy to say the report didn’t turn up anything that should give people heartburn.”

The fiscal analysis, conducted by Butkus Consulting, Inc., was presented to the Sammamish City Council on July 15. After counting additional operating expenditures against additional operating revenues, the city says that upon annexation, Sammamish would likely net a positive balance of approximately $1.24 million a year.

However, consultant Pete Butkus cautioned that the report did not include major capital expenditures. The city’s commitment to spend at least $3 million on Issaquah-Fall City Road, for example, was not folded into the fiscal report numbers.

“That’s a corridor we want to improve for our current residents, many of whom use it as a commuting route, and for Klahanie residents, as well,” Yazici said. “But the ultimate scope and cost, and the amount of grant money we’ll be able to obtain, is not yet known.”

The fiscal report, more than 40 pages long, included data and information relevant to both Sammamish and Klahanie-area residents. Here is a sampling:

• The Klahanie annexation area, made up of Klahanie proper and numerous adjacent neighborhoods, has an estimated population of 10,939. Sammamish currently has an estimated population of 48,060.
• If annexed, the 10,939 Klahanie area residents would comprise 18.54 percent of Sammamish’s total population.
• The annexation area is 1.98 square miles. Sammamish is 21.55 square miles.
• If annexed, the 1.98 square miles in the annexation area would comprise 8.41 percent of the city’s total area.
• The Klahanie area has 3,929 housing units.
• There are only 32 undeveloped lots in the annexation area.
• The Klahanie area’s assessed valuation is $1.48 billion. Sammamish’s assessed valuation is $9.27 billion.
• If annexed, the Klahanie area would constitute 13.82 percent of the city’s total assessed valuation.
• There are 8.65 people per acre in the annexation area. There are 3.48 people per acre in Sammamish.
• In November 2005, a majority of Klahanie area voters expressed a desire to annex to Issaquah, but on a related ballot issue they declined to assume their share of Issaquah’s existing voter-approved debt. Given that, Issaquah decided not to annex the area.
• In November 2013, a slight majority of Klahanie area residents declined to be annexed to Issaquah.
• The fiscal report says Sammamish would add six police officers to its current staff if the annexation took place.
• Deficient street conditions in the annexation area caused by long-term deferred maintenance will require deep patching and asphalt overlays.
• The King County Road Levy, currently paid by Klahanie area residents, will disappear upon annexation. The city will assume responsibility for planning, design and maintenance of all public roadway in the annexation area.
• King County Fire Protection District No. 10 levies a property tax and a “fire benefit service charge” in the Klahanie annexation area. These would no longer be collected in the event of annexation.
• The city of Sammamish does not have a utility tax or a business and occupation tax.
• On a $500,000 home, Klahanie area residents would pay $421 less in property taxes after annexation to Sammamish.

Yazici suggested that those interested should read the report for themselves.

“It’s a pretty readable as reports go and has a lot of valuable information,” he said.

To see the report and other relevant information, go to the city website at www.sammamish.us and click on the “Klahanie annexation” tab on the left side of the home page.