Capturing all the black ink in the current session of the state Legislature is what to do with all the red ink – about $8 billion – that threatens to sink state government or at least beach it on a rocky shore.

It’s all about revenue and expensives – too little of one and too much of the other. The state is loath to give up any source of money, but – to introduce another player – cities are just as loath to implement state mandates without some financial help from the state to do so.

Which brings me to an issue that has buffeted Renton on nearly all its borders – annexation. Those unincorporated areas that want to annex to Renton must initiate the process. It’s city policy not to force anyone to make that move. But, the City Council can say no to an annexation, especially one that’s not in the best interest of the city and its residents financially.

Now, in the state Legislature is House Bill 2249, a “carrot and stick” proposal that gives cities like Renton an additional two years (until Jan. 1, 2012) to “commence” an annexation and still receive a share of the sales and use tax that would normally go to the state. That’s the carrot.

Then there’s the stick. If the cities don’t annex a potential annexation area by Jan. 1, 2012, they would see their sales tax decline, which includes sharing more of that tax with the county.

Suzanne Dale Estey, the city’s economic development director, testified for the city in favor of the bill on Tuesday. In fact, this bill is one of the city’s top priorities, even with its stick at the ready. It’s all a matter of geography.

Renton has two large potential annexation areas – Fairwood and Skyway/West Hill – that will in the next very few years likely no longer be urban islands in a landscape that’s not friendly to providing urban-level services. So they have two choices: Incorporate or annex. Fairwood could become a city later this year; the only real choice for West Hill/Skyway is to annex.

Renton is keeping its options open, because annexing one or both of the areas could have profound economic and social impacts on the city’s current residents without adequate financial assistance from the state. Skyway/West Hill would come in with millions of dollars in infrastructure needs.

Still, there’s the press of a state mandate – the Growth Management Act that in King County keeps urban areas on one side (west) of a line slicing through the county and rural areas on the other. Whether the state can actually force a city to annex an unincorporated area could end up in court.

The city has made it clear it wants to partner with the state on issues related to annexation. But the city alone can’t implement the state’s growth laws; it needs the state’s help. That’s why HB 2249 and a similar (but simpler bill) Senate Bill 5321, sponsored by powerful state Sen. Margarita Prentice, are so important to the city.

Anyone concerned about Renton’s future and its quality of life needs to keep a close eye on what’s going on in Olympia, relative to annexations. Renton officials are certainly doing so.

Importantly, these two bills will give Renton and other cities more time to weigh and then “commence” annexations. That extra time is critical if Fairwood opts not to incorporate and there’s simply not time for the city to meet the current state deadline to get the annexation sales tax. The city would need that tax to help meet its financial obligations in Fairwood for the 10 years it’s available. The same is basically true for Skyway, just as it was in Benson Hill.

And, just as an aside, the same House bill includes a provision that allows the county to impose a utility tax to help it pay its bills. That’s something for folks to consider who like things just the way they are in unincorporated King County. Your taxes could easily to up, too, to pay for services from the county.