Property tax unchanged — for now

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough Assembly is making its way through amendments to the 2010 budget.

As of press time, no significant changes were made to the property tax rate.

In the first round of deliberations Monday, the Assembly chose, with the option to revisit the decision later, to accept Borough Manager John Duffy’s proposal of a $46,108,048 as the Borough’s contribution to the school district’s budget.

“I feel confident that if the [federal] stimulus money comes through, between that and the manager’s budget there won’t be any loss of staffing,” said acting mayor Lynne Woods.

Assemblywoman Cindy Bettine agreed.

“I feel like they’re going to get all of what they want through that additional funding source,” she said.

Multiple Assembly members pointed out that the decision wasn’t final and could be revisited further along in the budget debate. Having put that marker in place, they sailed through the next few budget areas – debt service, enhanced-911, the landfill, Port MacKenzie and fire service areas.

The only significant change to the latter was Bettine’s move to delete $830,000 allotted to constructing a fire training facility with money from the Wasilla-Lakes Fire Service Area, which funds the Central Mat-Su Fire Department which, in turn, covers Wasilla and the surrounding area.

Bettine said that her move didn’t stop the project but rather gives the Borough some time to thoroughly vet the project. Concerns have been raised recently about what the facility – planned for a plot of lane at the corner of Knik-Goose Bay Road and Vine Road – would mean for the surrounding community.

“I’d like to see something like this in the Borough but I don’t know about this location,” said Assemblyman Mark Ewing.

“My intention is to really settle what you’re talking about by taking it out of the capital budget,” Bettine said.

The money would remain in the budget but would stay in the service area’s general fund rather than be allocated to a specific project.

Having moved through those areas of the budget, the Assembly paused to thoroughly debate road service areas. The Assembly was on a break while Duffy hashed over some ideas regarding the service area funds with the Borough attorney and finance director.

The Borough is divided into a number of different road service areas, each of which pays its own rate of property tax on top of what the Borough collects. Most areas also have a fire service area, which works on a similar tax structure.

Bettine pushed through three amendments rolling back increases to the road service mill levies in her district. Assemblyman Tom Kluberton then made a motion to change the way the Borough calculates how much each area has to pay the borough for administrative costs.

He had one particular service area in mind – Caswell. The way it works now, he said, the area pays more than $100,000 in administrative costs. That leaves the area with no capital budget to speak of and existing solely to pay maintenance costs. In short, they can’t build or fix any roads and end up paying mostly for snow removal. But if he tried to reduce their tax rate, which, in addition to a three mill fire service area rate voted in last year, stands at 7.46 mills, Kluberton said the service area wouldn’t be able to pay for maintenance.

But what’s problematic, Kluberton said, is that with a mill rate of 4.46 mills for road service, all the area is getting for its $100,000 in administrative costs is a single road service area superintendent who has to split his time between Caswell and three other service areas.

“He could be driving a gold Cadillac and not be worth that much,” Kluberton said. “I can’t justify it to my constituents, I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

What he proposed was changing the formula for calculating a service area’s share of the administrative costs. In Kluberton’s formula, the cost would be based not on the number of road miles in the area – a system he called “archaic” – but on the amount of money being spent on maintenance and capital projects.

Bettine asked for more time and more deliberation.

“I can’t support this without having a work session,” she said.

Assemblyman Rob Wells said changing the formula would jeopardize road projects that service areas in his district have already scheduled.

“Well, at least they have some,” Kluberton said.

As of press time, the Assembly had finished with the fourth amendment in their packet of 21 amendments to the budget. If it didn’t manage to finish the budget and set the mill rate before the meeting ended there is a meeting scheduled for Wednesday to wrap things up.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.