Mayor, assembly sabotaging finances

To the editor:

Our Mat-Su Borough mayor and assembly are sabotaging our finances and our future.

The mayor’s new proposal to reduce homeowners’ assessed valuation by $20,000 is another costly election year gimmick (see the Aug. 5 Frontiersman).

Just last year, our voters approved $214 million for school bonds and $32 million for road bonds to help us meet the needs of our growing Mat-Su population.

Our bonds must be sold to investors so we can build those schools and roads. Investors want to be sure they are buying bonds from governments that will pay their bills. As the strength of the borrower goes down, the cost of borrowing goes up.

Our borough used to be known for its conservative fiscal management. Consequently, our borough borrowed money at very competitive rates. Not any more. The mayor and assembly have been raiding our financial reserves, cutting revenues and trimming budgets without regard for the consequences.

As taxpayers, we will now pay more to borrow money to build our schools and our roads. These extra costs will continue for decades, simply because our mayor and assembly have dramatically weakened our borough finances.

My first bond sale financed the construction of the new Anchorage sewer system after the 1964 earthquake.

I have participated in many bond sales over the past 45 years. When I think of the damage this wrongheaded proposal by our mayor will do to our borough’s future, I cannot help but cry out “STOP!”

Vote “no” on this nonsense, and tell your mayor and borough assembly that it is time for them to act like grownups.

Sid McCausland

The Butte