Borough mayor vetoes tax vote

PALMER — The Borough Assembly’s move to put a sales tax on the October ballot hit a major roadblock this morning with Borough Mayor Talis Colberg vetoing the legislation.

“This is a reallocation of more taxes on the working poor in the midst of serious recession,” Colberg wrote in his veto.

He seemed unconvinced by assembly efforts to make the tax “revenue-neutral” by reducing property taxes.

“The effort to make the tax ‘revenue neutral’ essentially ends after the first year, if it happens at all,” Colberg wrote.

The sales tax passed at Tuesday night’s assembly meeting with members Mark Ewing and Tom Kluberton opposed. Sales tax supporters say they are seeking a means to reduce property tax burden. Its opponents, among them the administrations of the cities of Houston, Palmer and Wasilla, say the tax will bring in much more revenue than projected and that safeguards in place to make sure the money goes solely to property tax reduction are insufficient.

A 5-2 vote is enough to override a veto, something Colberg said he was well aware of.

“I am not unmindful that the assembly vote (5-2) was sufficient to override a veto. However, I do think that this is an opportunity to pause and reconsider the consequences of creating this new tax,” Colberg said.