Who can say whether Ruston will ever become the Medina of Tacoma, as Mayor Kim Wheeler predicted nearly four years ago? But as the town struggles with issues of growth and change, Tacoma's former finance director offers a few other examples that Ruston might emulate.

From Steve Marcotte's Analysis of Current Financial Condition, submitted in February:

The situation currently facing Ruston is unique in its history and, doubtless, unique to the public officials trying to deal with it. But it is not unique to cities and towns elsewhere. There are several local communities that might provide insights on how some of these same issues have been successfully addressed.

Town of Beaux Arts Village
This is a town on the shores of Lake Washington that has about half the current population of Ruston yest is financially stable without major business development. It has maintained a separate identity while surrounded by Bellevue and using contracted services from King County for Police services and Bellevue for Fire services.

Town of Fircrest
Fircrest is virtually surrounded by the City of Tacoma and uses Tacoma Public Utilities for electric services and has a contract with the Tacoma Fire Department for fire and emergency medical services.

City of Fife
Fife has doubled its population in the past five years and has experienced a great deal of commercial development. It now has a resident population of about 7,500 and a daytime population of about 35,000. They have adapted their staffing and service models to meet these rapidly expanding requirements.

Marcotte's report included three recommendations for Ruston.

[More:]

1. Ruston needs to plan how best to bridge the cash flow deficits in the Current Expenses Fund that are projected to occur even under the best case scenario. Cash flow projections in this report are based on a set of assumptions listed in the report and assume a seven year development period for Pt. Ruston. These assumptions should be carefully monitored over time.

2. Ruston needs to fully assess the cost impacts of planned growth on Town services. There are other nearby cities that may provide insights to these impacts because of similar past experience with growth. Ruston needs to determine its future staffing facilities and equipment needs and plan their timing as they will impact cash flow projections.

3. Ruston should adopt a set of Financial Policies to guide its use of reserve and debt. This will be particularly important if Ruston needs to borrow for any purpose. A draft set of Financial Policies is included to serve as a starting point.