Can’t always afford what you want

To the editor:

The five liberals controlling the Mat-Su Borough Assembly like to tax and spend. What will they do this spring? We should be worried. This same group last year lacked the fiscal discipline and self-control to balance the budget within sustainable revenues. They decided to take $3,000,000 from one-time cash reserves to pay for ongoing operations. They simply kicked the can down the road. And how do they spend our taxes on themselves? They spend $23,310 annually for each member’s health insurance. But this is not all. They spend a total of $44,000 on each member not including travel expenses. Should our Assembly cost $310,000 a year? The majority in control of the Assembly lack any sense of fiduciary responsibility and if asked they blame such “fixed costs” on the Municipal code or the voters. But it is a fact that we can change the code. They will say we supported school bonds and property tax caps for seniors and veterans. But then conveniently they forget that we strongly opposed new taxes including a borough-wide sales tax twice. Their self-indulgent spending must stop. Are they this foolish and extravagant with their own family’s budget? Oil prices are down and oil production is down so this year’s budget requests will require much more hard work, scrutiny, and tough decisions. We must first look at audited expenses to see what is real and reasonable and then require the Assembly to make significant cost reductions before raising our property taxes. We may not be able to afford everything they want!

Bob Doyle

Wasilla