LA PINE – On a winter night in November, a city could be born.

La Pine, that boundless stretch of bunch grass and ponderosa pines, has started on the long trek to township three times since the 1980s, falling before the end.

But a fresh trip has begun, following in the footsteps of other Oregon cities. The road involves at least six steps: setting a boundary, determining the population, establishing a budget, deciding what services to provide, filing a petition and electing a government.

”It’s an evolutionary process,” said Steve Bryant with the League of Oregon Cities. ”It takes a strong consensus within the community that the time has come to become a city. You need a well-formulated plan for preparing for the demands that citizens place on local government.”

So far, the La Pine Political Action Committee, a group of volunteers formed last fall that wants more local control of the region, has only begun the first two steps in becoming a city: establishing a rough boundary and a population estimate.

The proposal may include 850 homes and 1,700 people from Wickiup Junction to the downtown core of La Pine – a far cry from the 32-square-mile region with about 7,500 people proposed before.

”We want to keep this small,” said Bob Cox, the La Pine Chamber of Commerce president and architect of this year’s incorporation effort. ”We can always build from there.”

But that depends on drafting a measure by Sept. 7 for the November election and, ultimately, the people of La Pine, who have expressed mixed feelings about becoming a city.

”It would end up ruining (La Pine),” said Ron Witherbee, 50, who has lived in the area for 10 years. ”Everybody’s taxes would go up. It would be nice to have a Wendy’s or McDonald’s, but I’d like to keep it the way it is – a quiet little town.”

But Becky Kraft, a La Pine resident for the past 26 years, said the area could use some extra funds to help pay for road repairs and other services.

”The town needs it,” said Kraft, who added that she would be willing to pay extra taxes to become a city. ”A little more government dollars need to be down here.”

Cox has yet to complete the third incorporation step of establishing a budget, but he pointed to Sisters as an example of what La Pine’s finances could look like.

The city has a population of 1,705 and budget of about $1.3 million. It collects many of its dollars from state funds that are distributed monthly to cities to help cover expenses.

After a new town’s population is certified by the Portland State Population Research Center, it can use those funds for general purposes, but gas tax revenues are restricted to road repairs and other maintenance.

Assuming the proposed city of La Pine also has about 1,700 people, it would collect a total of $107,678 in state dollars.

But with this money may come new taxes.

To get the state’s liquor funds, for example, a city must have levied property taxes the year before.

It must also provide four of the following services, the fourth step to incorporation: police protection, fire protection, street construction, maintenance and lighting, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, planning, zoning and subdivision control or one or more utility services.

The committee has yet to pin down a permanent budget or tax rate, but Cox said La Pine’s services may cover roads, water, sewer and planning.

Cox’s minimalist approach mirrors the movement to incorporate Keizer, a 35,000-population city just north of Salem, which became a town in 1982 when it held 15,000 people.

Like La Pine, Keizer wanted greater control of its growth issues instead of reacting passively to decisions made by larger bodies of government, according to Chris Eppley, who has been the city’s manager for almost six years.

Keizer established a $50 million budget and permanent tax rate of $2.08 per $1,000 of assessed property value to meet only the key services – but only after six previous incorporation measures had failed.

The city has its own police department and provides many other services, including street sweeping, pothole repairs and park maintenance.

”They just wanted the basics,” Eppley said. ”No frills, meet the basic services and keep my taxes low. Period.”

The measure passed partly because people felt the shadow of Salem moving deeper into their community with rumors of annexation, according to Eppley.

”They said, ‘To hell with you!’ ” he laughed, ”’We’re just going to incorporate!’ ”

Eppley expected a similar reaction from people in La Pine because he said they also wanted more local control.

The facts back Eppley’s claim.

One of the biggest challenges La Pine faces is a lack of local control over public issues, such as roads, schools, water and sewers, according to a recent survey by the Dennett Consulting Group. The firm was hired by the La Pine Political Action Committee.

The survey, which was mailed in February to about 1,800 people of different ages, backgrounds and neighborhoods, represents about one-third of all registered voters in La Pine and also found up to 81 percent of voters in La Pine’s core neighborhoods support incorporation.

The committee said the survey provides a scientific glimpse into a region whose people may – for the first time in history – be changing their minds about becoming a city.

That, of course, depends on the roughly 1,700 residents in the proposed boundary. At least 20 percent of voters in that area would have to sign a petition, the fifth step to becoming a city. A simple majority would also have to approve a measure to incorporate in the November election.

”La Pine’s issues are, ‘How do we stay a unique community?’ ” said John Hartsock, the council president of Damascus, which was the most recent Oregon city to incorporate in 2004. ”(It’s) a little bit like Damascus.”

The 10,000 population city south of Portland has a $3.3 million budget and permanent tax rate of $3.88 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Damascus’ concerns echoed those of Keizer and La Pine. Portland’s city government had threatened to include Damascus in its urban growth boundary, so Hartsock helped gather together a group of 30 people who met weekly to look at different options.

They even dug through the records of La Pine’s efforts to avoid the same mistakes.

”The logical solution is incorporation,” Hartsock said. ”And quite frankly, when we started I’m not sure I would have given you a wooden nickel we’d pass it.”

But they did, and the newest city in Oregon now provides planning and also law enforcement through a contract with the county. Damascus will soon offer road services and maybe parks, water and sewer amenities.

Despite this success, becoming a city has posed challenges, according to Hartsock.

He said the hardest part came with one of the final steps to incorporation: running a city council, a board of five members who must take office within 10 days of election results.

In Damascus’ case, only two council members had ever served on a board.

”The other three were brand new,” Hartsock said. ”They had a hell of a learning curve.”

Although both Hartsock and Eppley said it was worth it for their cities to embark on the long trek to township, Bryant cautioned the people of La Pine.

”Think carefully,” he said, especially about permanent taxes. ”You’re stuck with it forever.”