Mat-Su assembly gives final okay to $431 million budget for borough operations, capital projects and schools

After several month of work the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly gave unanimous final approval for a Fiscal 2023 budget at its meeting last Tuesday, May 24. The final tab was $431 million, including $127.8 million for borough operations; $258.5 million for schools; $32 million for the borough’s self-financing enterprise funds, and $35.5 million for a capital projects budget.

The good news is that the assembly and borough administration structured the budget so that property taxes will go up only marginally, by 1.4 percent, despite an increase in the assessed value of homes that averaged about 13 percent.

The borough’s spending was brought down 1.3 percent from last year but the borough’s contribution to the Mat-Su school district was increased 7.3 percent.

“The average homeowner with a house valued at $320,000 will see only a $42 tax increase,” Stephanie Nowers, a member of the assembly, said at the May 24 meeting. “The borough’s finances are in good shape. A lot of needs are fulfilled and we will have a cushion left,” Nowers said.

One uncertainty, however, is whether generous funding from the state in its budget approved May 18 will survive Gov. Mike Dunlevy’s vetoes. The governor has the authority to make “line item” vetos in the budget, either striking or reducing them, and it is expected that some vetoes will be made.

Deputy Mayor Jesse Sumner, who also on the borough assembly, said he has asked the governor not to veto the municipal school-debt assistance that is fully paid in the state budget compared with only partial funding in previous years.

“If the governor does not veto some of this it puts us in really good shape,” Sumner said.

In another development, borough manager Mike Brown told the assembly that the borough administration has agreed to work with the Municipality of Anchorage on an Upper Cook Inlet Marine Energy Alliance for a cooperative energy development program for the region

Brown shared copies of a draft Memorandum of Understanding with the assembly at the May 24 meeting.

What Mat-Su brings to the table besides its marine terminal at Port MacKenzie is substantial land near the port well suited for industrial development of tidal, solar and other renewable energy resources. Anchorage, for its part, desires access to renewable energy resources to improve operation resilience and reduced greenhouse gas emissions as part of its port development plan, according to the draft agreement.

“This MOU will assist in making sure that these discussions are limited and not intended to impact other issues related to the respective ports’ operations, development or coordination,” the draft agreement said.

The agreement is a concept at this point but the significance is that the two Southcentral municipalities who have often sparred on projects will now work together. As an example of one project Mat-Su is working with Ocean Renewable Energy Corp. to test ORPC’s in-water turbine at Point MacKenzie, near the borough’s Port MacKenzie facility.

The company’s turbine technology has been shown to be feasible at other locations but the Inlet tests will show how glacial silt carried in tides can be handled, and how the operation might affect endangered beluga whales. If the tidal project works it could be expanded, its power could be “exported” to Anchorage by way of existing transmission cables from Chugach Electric’s nearby Beluga power station. The initial use of the tidal-generated power, however, would be at the Port MacKenzie facility.

There are also hopes is for a letter of agreement in place soon with the U.S. Department of Energy, opening the prospect of federal funds for development of renewables.