These are tough times for governments, especially local ones that provide the types of services that touch the everyday lives of people.

Those services include police, firefighters, snow removal, human services and much much more. And they are expensive. We pay for them with our taxes.

Now, in these economically trying times, Fairwood residents face a daunting decision: Should they form a city and take on themselves the ever-increasing burden of providing their own local services?

The answer isn’t simple, especially when there’s the very real option of annexing to Renton, a fully functioning city with a bright future and a proven track record of weathering all types of economic storms.

Yes, I know the economy runs in cycles, with bad times followed by good. But are Fairwood residents willing to dig deeper into their pockets in tough times just to keep police officers on the street?

Renton provides the economies of scale with its large tax base that Fairwood wouldn’t have as a small fledgling city.

These questions deserve thoughtful discussions that aren’t overshadowed by the rhetoric from proponents of either incorporation or annexation.

An incorporation study a consultant group will release soon on Fairwood’s financial feasibility will play a key role in informing the discussion.

Maple Valley certainly was a wise choice for a comparison. It is about the same size as Fairwood and it’s close by. I think it’s telling that when I asked Maple Valley Mayor Laure Iddings whether she would want to form a city today, she said no, in part because the economic conditions have changed so drastically since Maple Valley was born.

This all may sound like I favor annexation. I’ll wait to weigh in on that until I read the feasibility study.

But time is running out for a City of Fairwood. Fairwood residents won’t get a third chance to form a city, because I believe that if incorporation fails, annexation will succeed. Two proposals are in the wings.

The stakes are high. A financially fragile city at the get-go could saddle Fairwood residents with onerous tax bills for years to come.