DeVilbiss, Halter wage war of words

WILLOW — A roiling political argument about fire service taxes now includes dueling letters from a local assembly member and the borough mayor and a public meeting April 30.

A three-paragraph letter from Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss apparently prompted a two-page rebutal from assemblyman Vern Halter .

The two clashed over whether a $200,000 loan approved at a March 17 Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting was needed, and whether voters should play a role in how much they will pay for fire service in the area.

The mayor promised to seek voter approval in his letter.

“I would like to assure you that I have recommended that the Fire Service Area Board place a request for a mill rate increase for the borough wide election coming this fall,” he wrote.

That sentence provoked an April 6 response from Halter. An advisory referendum for a mill rate increase would represent an unprecedented electoral move, Halter wrote in a letter addressed to Willow residents.

“There has never, to my knowledge, been a vote by any other FSA or RSA (Road Service Area) on a mill rate/levy increase or decrease,” Halter wrote.

The Willow Fire Service Area mill rate is subject of public meeting at 7 p.m., April 30 at the Willow Fire Station.

Willow voters exercised a local option to raise their mill rates to 2.5 in 2012, but the measure was soundly defeated, according to Halter’s letter.

Halter also planned to ask the assembly to remove or suspend Jim Huston and Doyle Holmes, fire service supervisors strongly opposed to past mill rate increases. DeVilbiss pledged to “have a board of fire supervisors that represents the community as a whole.”

Asked whether removal of a fire service area supervisor was possible (supervisors are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the assembly), borough manager John Moosey directed the question to borough attorney Nick Spiropoulos.

Spiropoulos did not return calls for comment.

Halter also challenged DeVilbiss to veto a publicly discussed mill rate increase, though he pointed out the assembly could vote to override any veto.

“The Mayoral position, by law, is to be weak and ceremonial; this is something Mayor DeVilbiss should be mindful of,” Halter wrote.

Expansion in the fire service area has been on the table for years, and new firehouses are planned for Crystal Lake, Nancy Lake, and Four Mile Road, in addition to the current Willow Firehouse near the intersection of Willow Fishhook and the Parks Highway. State legislators previously provided $600,000 for construction money in the form of a grant. The loan was intended to purchase an existing lot containing buildings suitable for a fire hall in the high-value Nancy Lake subdivision, allowing the state money to be spent only on construction.

Mill rates will likely have to increase to support the new fire stations, officials said. The figure publicly discussed so far — which borough officials plan to submit to the assembly for approval, according to Moosey — has been 2.75 mills.

A mill is a tax term equal to $1 of property tax for each $1,000 of assessed value on a property. A property owner with a lot assessed at $200,000 would pay $550 for the fire service portion of their bill. Under the current rate, property tax owners pay 1.34 mills, or $268. Other portions of the tax bill, like the 3.5 mill rate for road service, and the borough area-wide service rate, would remain unchanged.

Absent changes from the mayor or assembly, the rate would more than double the amount of property tax rates paid for fire services in Willow, who presently pay among the lowest tax rates for fire service in the Valley.

Officials and some residents say the higher taxes are necessary to pay for better service. The better service would allow the Willow Department to improve its ISO ratings, which in turn could reduce insurance costs. For example, they cite the West Lakes department, which recently improved its rating, as an example of how it could work.

DeVilbiss disagreed.

For the West Lakes model to work with the relative poverty of the Willow tax base (Meadow Lakes maintains five fire stations but has more overall property value), the mill rate would have to be set at 7.12, meaning the hypothetical property tax owner would pay $1,424 for fire services on an annual property tax bill, DeVilbiss said.

At that price tag, voters deserve a chance to re-examine the issue, DeVilbiss said.

“It’s disingenuous to say we’ll be able to run those stations at 2.75,” he said. “I would like to let the voters in Willow decide if pushing for this ISO rating is something they want to do.”

The pair also disagreed over whether the loan, which drew about 25 residents to the March 17 meeting, was even necessary. The loan money wasn’t needed, based on discussions with state Rep. Wes Keller (R-Wasilla), DeVilbiss said.

Halter’s letter did not equivocate.

“We will not change course on this loan,” he wrote. “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 lead to reduced fire insurance premiums.”

A public vote would only cloud a public safety issue with political ideology, Halter said Friday.

“I guess we’d all like things to be voted on every time, but that’s not how it works,” Halter said. “Mill levies are set by the assembly and nobody else.”

“Obviously, if you’re going to vote on a mill rate, people are gonna probably vote against it, won’t they?” he added. “You set mill rates set on needs and services, not on politics.”

Both the loan and the mill rate increase were needed, though possible changes to the original $600,000 grant issued by the Legislature may impact the finances, said Willow firefighters spokeswoman Kel Jacobs.

Firefighters approached the assembly only after the fire service area board proved to be dysfunctional, Jacobs said.

“You would think that the board would work together to assist the fire department,” she said. “It’s dysfunctional. They’re working against each other. The department is suffering.”

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Willow Road Service Area mill rate. Officials are uncertain how changes made by Legislators may affect the status of the loan.