Assembly introduces tax

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly kept a fairly light agenda at its Tuesday meeting which was scheduled for the review of the manager and clerk.

Ordinance 19-092 was introduced at the meeting by Assemblyman Jim Sykes which would enact a 2 percent areawide sales tax for property tax relief. Before the agenda was passed, Assemblyman Jesse Sumner objected. Sumner believed that the ordinance should not be introduced at a special meeting which was not well attended by the public. Sykes countered that it would be better to put this measure out to the public during the month-long break the assembly is taking.

“This is the only practical time to introduce it,” Sykes said. “It’s an important public issue and it can’t wait.”

After consulting with the Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie, it was confirmed that the ordinance would have to be introduced to have time to put the sales tax on the November ballot allowing for an introduction at the Assembly’s next meeting on August 6 and possible adoption at the August 20 meeting. Sumner’s motion to postpone failed with Ted Leonard and George McKee joining Sumner to vote against introducing the areawide sales tax. The ordinance will be up for public comment again at the Aug. 6 regular meeting of the assembly. Each of the two members of the public who gave comments to the Assembly were opposed. One of those commenters, Dave Jenkins, incorrectly noted that he didn’t see any familiar faces from the last time he spoke to the assembly a decade ago when the chambers were still in the borough building basement. Jenkins was corrected by Halter, who had been on the assembly at that time.

“I don’t know if I want to be attached to a sales tax, but thank you,” Halter joked.

Todd Smoldon, Director of the Governor’s Mat-Su office, gave the assembly an update on thoughts from the governor. Smoldon believes that the legislature will be unable to convene and conduct business prior to the July 8 session at Wasilla Middle School that they have been called to by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Smoldon also told the assembly that Dunleavy sent out notices to state employees, implying that he is going to sign at least part of the budget.

“Most certainly there will be some vetoes,” Smoldon said.

Smoldon gave personal opinions, not those of the governor when he told Sumner that he believes the legislature’s lawsuit to forward fund education will be dealt with swiftly to avoid any further disruption. During comments, Leonard asked the mayor to direct the manager to work with the school district in supplying whatever funding necessary if the lawsuit around forward funding education is not handled quickly.

“What I’m worried about is that since we did appropriate the funding for the schools and if there is something that does happen with the funding at the state level that the operations for our schools aren’t hindered by the discussions going on between the legislature,” Leonard said.

The directive was based on School Board Resolution 19-09, and Leonard previously checked with Chief Financial Officer Cheyenne Heindel to ensure that borough operations would maintain at status quo if additional funding is needed by the school district.

Halter jokingly asked Smoldon to add the capital projects to the special session agenda. Much of the capital budget was left unfunded, including road projects that come at a 90 percent federal match rate. Leonard made sure to reiterate that the city of Wasilla is safe, claiming that Wasilla has more police per capita than any other municipality within the state.

“We’re looking forward to it being in the Valley here,” Smoldon said.

McKechnie made it through her review and is retained for the next year. Borough Attorney Nick Spiropolous also got a new contract, and Borough Manager John Moosey was retained with a 1.8 percent increase. McKechnie was approved without objection but Sykes, Assemblywoman Tam Boeve and Deputy Mayor Matthew Beck voted in opposition of Moosey’s contract.