Bonds, taxes, meth ordinance go to voters

In addition to the candidates for various city and borough offices on Tuesday's ballot, voters will find up to eight propositions, depending on where they live. Here is a rundown of what to expect when you go to vote:

€ Proposition 1, commonly referred to as the "gravel tax," will appear on all ballots. It asks voters to approve a severance tax on the sale of natural resources taken from property within the borough. That tax would not exceed 25 cents per cubic yard of material, 25 cents per short ton of coal and $2.50 per acre of timber.

€ Proposition 2, which will appear only on ballots of borough residents who do not live within the limits of a city, asks voters to approve the acquisition, design, construction and installation of an animal care facility. The new facility would be financed by general obligation bonds not to exceed $4,660,000 in value, which would be paid off from property taxes levied and collected on a non-areawide basis through-out the borough.

Borough officials estimate the annual cost to taxpayers of this debt service to be about $9 per $100,000 of assessed value.

€ Proposition 3, which also will not appear on city residents' ballots, is another bond-issue proposition. It seeks funding for construction of and/or capital improvements at libraries in Sutton, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, Big Lake and Willow, as well as a core-are library with processing and distribution capability. The bond cannot exceed $15,635,000 and will cost taxpayers about $31 per $100,000 of assessed value per year, according to borough officials.

€ Proposition 4 will appear on all ballots throughout the borough. It seeks approval of a $12.7 million bond for construction of an elementary school in the Knik-Goose Bay area. Bonds may not be issued unless construction is eligible for 70 percent debt-service reimbursement from the state. The estimated cost to taxpayers will be $6 per $100,000 of assessed value.

€ Proposition 5 is another school construction bond proposition that seeks approval of bond issuance not to exceed $27,870,000 in value. This proposition will appear on all ballots throughout the borough and is intended for the construction of two elementary schools, one in the south Palmer area, and the other in the South Trunk Road area. Bonds may not be issued unless the projects are eligible for 60 percent debt-service reimbursement from the state. The estimated cost to taxpayers is $17.60 per $100,000 of assessed value.

€ Proposition 6, commonly referred to as the meth ordinance, will appear on all borough ballots. It seeks voter approval of expansion of the borough's health powers to provide for the regulation, education and protection of the public's health, safety and welfare, as they are affected by methamphetamines. Approval will enable the borough to regulate access to over-the-counter medications used in the production of meth.

€ Proposition 7, repeal of the tobacco tax, will appear on all borough ballots. It asks voters if the borough tax on the sale of tobacco products should be repealed.

€ Proposition 8 asks voters if the area in and around Rolling Acres subdivision should be annexed into the Meadow Lakes Road Service Area for the provision of road services. Only voters living in the service area and the proposed annexation area will vote on this proposition. In accordance with state law, both groups must approve the measure for it to be enacted. The anticipated cost of services within the proposed annexation area is not expected to exceed $300 per $100,000 of assessed value.