Public comments over education funding and timber sale highlight assembly meeting

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly delayed action on three ordinances at its most recent regular meeting, all of which drew public testimony.

The first ordinance up for a hearing at the meeting (OR 18-014), would change the way the borough appropriates funds to the Mat-Su Borough School District. Currently, the borough assembly makes a decision each year on how much local contribution the district receives. In recent years, the assembly raised the appropriation to schools by about three-percent annually. Two years ago, it approved a larger appropriation, closer to a six-percent increase, and last year, the funding remained mostly flat.

Combined with uncertainty around the funding level that will come from the Alaska Legislature each year, educators and their advocates have asked for a method that would provide for more predictability in funding. Ordinance 18-014 is an attempt to provide that. Under the proposal, MSBSD would receive funding based on a fixed rate of 6.25 mills worth of the revenue generated by property taxes.

Representatives from the school district, including Superintendent Monica Goyette, said the mill rate plan would be helpful in achieving the desired budget predictability, though the district prefers a fixed rate of 6.5 mills. A presentation by Assistant Superintendent Luke Fulp showed that either scenario leads to a structural deficit based on current information, but that the deficit grows more rapidly at the borough’s proposed millage.

Public testimony was divided on the issue. Educators, parents, and others joined the school district in praising the plan overall, but many also asked for the increase to 6.5 mills. As often happens in education funding discussions, controlling growing class size was cited as a reason to consider additional funds.

Some of the opponents of the new funding measure were critical of the results from Alaska schools. Beth Fread, who said she worked for the North Slope School District in the 1980s, criticized the amount of money given to schools. Fread said, “Amazingly, we keep throwing money at a dysfunctional system.”

The second ordinance also dealt with property taxes. Ordinance 18-015 would establish a new cap on the area-wide mill rate. Currently, the Mat-Su Borough has a revenue cap, which determines how much money it is allowed to bring in through various means. The cap is adjusted each year based on the prior year’s revenue, population growth, and the consumer price index in Anchorage. The new proposal would place a cap of 10.5 mills on property taxes. Currently, the borough is taxing slightly below that level, and, according to Mayor Halter, the proposed budget for next year would also fit under the proposed cap.

While there was less public testimony on the tax cap than education funding, everyone who did speak was opposed in whole or in part to the ordinance. Former Assembly Member and State Representative Jim Colver wanted to see service areas included in the tax cap proposal. He said, “We really need that tax cap in place across the whole borough for all of our other service areas.”

The final ordinance that was delayed was number 18-017, which involved a timber sale contract near Chijuk Creek. In addition to the size of the sale, more than 10,000 acres, the speed with which the ordinance moved through the process before Tuesday is remarkable. Typically, ordinances are introduced at a regular assembly meeting, and the public hearing is held at a future regular meeting. That means at least two weeks between introduction and public hearing for most measures. In this case, the ordinance was introduced at a joint assembly and planning commission meeting on March 27th, and a public hearing just one week later.

The area where the timber sale would take place is in the Northern Susitna Valley near Oilwell Road. Much of the public testimony on the proposal was favorable, including from multiple people who would be involved in the project. One voice of opposition came from Donna Massey, who lives on Oilwell Road. Massey opened her comments by saying, “I’m not saying, ‘Don’t log.’ I’m saying, ‘Do it right.’” She said the contract’s process is in violation of borough code, and that she particularly opposed the fast turnaround for the public. Massey stated that the seven days between introduction and public hearing did not allow the public enough time to gather and review information to provide input to the assembly.

Mayor Halter agreed with those sentiments when he asked the assembly to postpone a decision on the timber sale. He said, “We’ve existed through two prior contracts that I know of, NPI and with Charlie Nash. They both went south, and both went to court. I would not get in a rush.” The assembly agreed to the postponement, with Assembly Members Dan Mayfield and Randall Kowalke opposing.

All three measures are scheduled for additional public hearing on April 17th.