Borough budget hearing draws a crowd

May 4, 2007

By Russell Stigall/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - People turned out to defend their libraries and support expansion of both borough staff and the aging animal shelter as budget hearings got under way Thursday evening.

Last night's meeting was held to get public comment on the borough's fiscal year 2008 budget.

Citizens told the assembly about their love of animals, libraries and extra help around borough offices. They also went to express their dislike for the borough's existing animal shelter and for the borough's proposed cut to the Valley's municipal libraries.

Borough Manager John Duffy's proposed budget calls to expand the borough workforce by as many as 10.5 new employees.

If Duffy's budget is approved by the assembly, the Borough Information Technology Department will get 1.5 new employees, Accounting could see one new employee, as would the Assessment Division, Engineering, Planning and the borough attorney's office. Port Enterprise Fund could add three new jobs, and Emergency Services, two.

During last night's public hearing, borough emergency responder Johnny Murdock said his department needs its two new employees to address public relations and to meet the increased demands of post-Sept. 11 emergency management.

&#8220With current staffing, one person has about a third of her responsibility to greet the public,” Murdock said.

Lloyd Smith, chief appraiser of the Mat-Su Borough Assessment Division, said the new position in his division would strengthen an integral part of the borough.

&#8220This new position would help free up appraisers to do more research and analysis to make sure everybody is paying taxes and paying fairly,” Smith said.

Duffy's proposed budget also includes $5 million to renovate and expand the borough's current animal shelter. Voters rejected a similar expansion proposal in late 2005.

Animal Care Officer Matt Hardwig said the state of the shelter speaks for itself.

&#8220All you need to do is come down and take a look,” he said.

Due to the shelter's limited dog and cat kennels, shelter workers are turning animals away, Hardwig said, and the current shelter doesn't allow for segregating possibly contagious animals.

&#8220It is a hazardous and limiting place for animals,” he said. &#8220It needs to be fixed now.”

Animal care provider Carolyn Johnson said the current shelter is 22 years old. In that time, she said the population of the Valley has grown much faster than the shelter.

Johnson said she has heard people say they would rather turn their animals loose than take them to the shelter, which she calls an embarrassment to the community and a &#8220hell hole.”

Duffy contracted the borough's budget by cutting contributions to the Palmer and Wasilla city library budgets.

Tom Healy, Palmer city manager, said the public expects a reasonable amount of service from their libraries.

Without borough money, Healy said, Palmer would have to pay for providing those services by imposing fees or pulling funding away from other municipal services.

Jenny Robson serves on two library boards in the Valley. She said municipal libraries do a lot with the funds they have, hosting after-school activities like tea parties, all-night readings and fashion shows.

Robson said the libraries do an excellent job of getting books into the hands of young readers. She said thousands of Valley preschoolers check out books every year.

The next public hearing on the budget will be Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Central Mat-Su Public Safety Building on Lucille Street in Wasilla.