Clearing up Willow Fire Service Area misconceptions

Willow residents recently received a letter from Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss, and you may have seen articles in the newspaper regarding the Willow Fire Service Area. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify and address some of the misconceptions caused by conflicting information.

• All mill rates/levies are set by the Mat-Su Borough Assembly. Mill rates are not set by ballot. After the assembly adopts the total budget, the mayor can line item veto any one of these mill rates. The assembly has the right and power to override a veto. This is based on our strong assembly-manager form of government. The mayoral position, by law, is to be a weak and ceremonial — this is something Mayor DeVilbiss should be mindful of.

• The Willow FSA mill rate increase will not go to the ballot. Taxes and mill rates involve complicated legal issues. The borough attorney has reviewed the borough code, and a decision from the Alaska Supreme Court, and has assured me that the Willow FSA mill levy can be raised without going to the ballot. In 2012, Willow exercised an option to vote on a Fire Service Area mill rate increase. That effort failed. There has never, to my knowledge, been a vote by any other Fire Service or Road Service Association on a mill rate/levy increase or decrease. There will be no ballot measure for the Willow FSA mill rate for this budget cycle. The mill rate is going to be set based on revenue generated, expenses incurred and growing the reserve fund. I will be proposing a rate for Willow, but it is going to be set by the assembly. The mill rate is not going to be set based on politics or political cronyism and past friendships that plague the current board.

• The Willow Fire Service Area board of supervisors: This board is unprofessional and has a history of violating borough meeting rules. These appointments by the mayor do not reflect this community nor do they reflect the importance of EMS/Fire. The Fire Service Area board is self-serving, divisive and its outright poor management deters EMS and Fire from performing their critical missions. I will take Mayor DeVilbiss up on his promise to make needed changes to the board. I plan to ask the assembly to suspend or remove two of the board members. Derral Godbee should remain on the board. Years ago this board should have helped push through the higher (correct) levy so the Fire Service Area could operate at a professional level. The Willow Road Service board does this and recommends a mill rate based on need and services. The Willow RSA rate is currently set at 3.5. There has never been a vote on this rate, which is significantly higher.

Jim Norcross, RSA board chair and his two fellow board members have my respect, along with Spain and Sons, who do the maintenance of our roads. They operate just the opposite of the Willow FSA Board. The expertise of the borough staff and especially the new interim director of EMS and fire chief, Bill Gamble, will be relied on to run the Willow Fire Service Area.

• The Nancy Lake Fire Hall: The state of Alaska, thanks to Sen. Mike Dunleavy and his staffer, John Wood, procured a $600,000 grant for the Mat-Su Borough to construct a Nancy Lake fire hall. On Dec. 2, 2014, by Ordinance Serial No. 14-167, the assembly unanimously accepted and appropriated the $600,000 grant for construction monies. On March 17, the assembly passed Resolution Serial No. 15-029, unanimously approving the monies needed to purchase a location and existing building — it is almost a perfect location with a duplex office and meeting spaces. This is a $200,000 loan from the borough revolving loan fund. We will not change course on this loan. The construction monies will be used to build a suitable facility that will provide safety and protection for decades to come. I want it to meet or exceed ISO requirements, which would lead to reduced fire insurance premiums.

• Tax reductions for Willow and all borough citizens: Every budget cycle I try my best to lower taxes — this occurred last year for the fiscal year 2015 budget. The area-wide mill rate set for 2014 was 9.852. For the 2015 budget deliberations, I was the prime sponsor and I moved to cap the large reserve fund in which we are obligated to have at $25 million. This automatically reduced the area-wide mill rate to 9.662. This was the lowest our area-wide mill rate has been for years. It reduced your property taxes. It did not impact the borough’s good credit rating or bond rating. In 2009, the area-wide rate was 10.326; in 2010 it was 9.980; in 2011 it was 9.956; in 2012 it was 10.051; in 2013 it was 9.691; and in 2014 it was 9.852. As you can see, I don’t relish raising the Willow FSA rate, but it is an absolute necessity to function at a level that allows them to complete their mission, protect life, protect property and to give you the level of professional service you deserve.

If your house is on fire, it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. If you are in an accident and hurt, EMS responders don’t care about your history of income or wealth. The process of growing our fire service and EMS requires knowledge and expertise. The plans to connect citizens of Willow to fire halls is a proven successful model. The Meadow Lakes and Big Lake Fire Service Area tied their stations together, met water storage standards and reduced their ISO rating to 4, causing big reductions in insurance premiums. They started out 10-15 years ago with a much lower population, they too were disorganized with a lot of in-fighting, but they turned it around and have a model Willow should follow. Now is the time!

Note: this letter reflects my opinion only, as the borough assembly has not taken an official position on the matter.

Vern Halter lives in Willow and represents District No. 7 on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly.