Mayor Greg Nickels is launching a campaign to get Seattle to annex all or part of the North Highline unincorporated area.

The mayor plans to suggest the Seattle City Council take the first steps toward annexing North Highline this year.

Designating North Highline as a "potential annexation area" would widen the analysis of making White Center and Boulevard Park part of the city of Seattle.

City planners have been analyzing some of the potential costs to the city. More results are expected soon.

"Seattle is a city of great neighborhoods and North Highline is one more," Nickels said. Seattle already has 58 designated neighborhoods.

Meanwhile the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is wondering what comes next in the annexation process.

Last fall, the 13-member council voted to advise the community to join Burien. But the Burien Planning Commission recommended against annexation.

The Burien City Council decided to wait until its two new members, who were elected in November, were sworn into office. Meanwhile the Burien lawmakers decided to gather more public input and try a phased approach to annexation.

At its Jan. 19 meeting, North Highline Council President Russ Kaye told fellow council members he recently asked King County Executive Ron Sims, where do we go from here?

"Burien has sort of tabled us," said North Highline Council member Steve Cox. "Let's get Burien to decide one way or another."

North Highline Council member Lee Lim suggested getting more North Highline residents involved in the public debate about annexation.

Cost comparisons done so far indicate whichever city annexes North Highline will end up losing money. The previous analysis showed it will cost more to provide services to North Highline than the community can produce in tax revenue.

But the mayor of Seattle is not dissuaded by that fact. Tax revenue from downtown businesses pays for city services to residents in areas of the city beyond downtown, he said.

Seattle also gets big slices of property tax and sales tax revenue.

"I don't think you could find a neighborhood in Seattle that isn't subsidized," Nickels said.

North Highline is under pressure to become part of one of its neighboring cities. Only Burien and Seattle have expressed interest.

King County has provided basic government services to North Highline for many years.

Cities and counties throughout Washington are following the state's Growth Management Act, which calls for counties to focus on regional and rural issues while cities are better equipped to provide basic government services, especially in urban areas.

The mayor said he's campaigning to annex White Center and Boulevard Park because Seattle city government offers more programs and services than does Burien.

The larger city also has a much bigger budget. He pointed out that Burien's general fund totals about $12 million, while Seattle's general fund is about $700 million.

"The city has resources," Nickels said. "We have services to help people enculturate to find opportunities. We're pretty good at that."

Seattle also is equipped to help immigrants. There are more foreign-born people living in Seattle today than there were during the height of local immigration in the 1920s, according to the mayor.

Some White Center business owners worry about having to pay Seattle's business-and-occupation tax. The mayor said a business with gross annual revenue of $250,000 pays $537 in business-and-occupation taxes.

He thinks that's a fair deal for the services offered by Seattle.

Nickels acknowledged that North Highline's 32,000 residents would have more political clout as part of Burien, but Seattle offers programs and services that Burien cannot.

"Do you want more representation and voice or a higher level of service?" was how Nickels posed the choice facing North Highline voters.

There would be "tradeoffs" if Seattle were to provide police and fire services in North Highline, he said. But he thinks annexation would allow better coordination against criminals who slip back and forth across the Seattle city limits on Roxbury Street.

Public schools in White Center and Boulevard Park would remain part of the Highline School District no matter which city the communities choose to join. However, the city of Seattle would offer after-school programs, health clinics and other services the city offers Seattle Public Schools.

Nickels also noted that Seattle has a Department of Neighborhoods and a "neighborhood matching fund," with which residents can split the cost of public improvements with the city.

Another reason for annexing the area, Nickels admitted, is that he has a soft spot for the community. He represented North Highline, West Seattle, Burien and Vashon Island on the King County Council for many years before becoming mayor of Seattle.

But, Nickels added, a more pressing reason is King County's budget for providing services to North Highline is withering away as the county shifts its focus to regional issues.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 206-932-0300.