Public to weigh in on tax hike

WASILLA — City residents are one step closer to a vote on a proposal to raise Wasilla’s sales tax by 50 percent for a year to pay for a new public library.

Without much discussion or fanfare, Wasilla City Council moved a proposal forward Monday from Deputy Mayor Colleen Sullivan-Leonard that calls for an election to decide if residents are willing to raise the sales tax rate from 2 percent to 3 percent for one year. Council members Dianne Woodruff, Leone Harris and Brandon Wall also signed on to support the plan.

The proposal will be the subject of a public hearing at the April 8 city council meeting.

Whether or not to raise the city’s sales tax rate — and if so, under what circumstances — has been an ongoing debate with the council for about a year. Mayor Verne Rupright originally approached the council in 2012 asking for a 1 percent hike, with half earmarked for capital projects — with the library as priority No. 1 — and the other half reserved to bolster the city’s general fund.

Sullivan-Leonard and Woodruff were two of the more vocal members of council to voice apprehension to that plan, citing an apparent lack of oversight over which capital improvements would be undertaken after the library and how those projects would be chosen. Woodruff in particular has said she believes the city’s budget should be examined and pared down where possible before asking taxpayers to pay more into the general fund.

Because the council expressed across-the-board support for constructing a new 23,500-square-foot library, Sullivan-Leonard crafted a tax plan that could raise the city’s estimated $6.5 million buy-in. A 1 percent tax that would sunset after a year would do the trick, she said.

Overall, the library is a $16.3 million project. Funding includes nearly $1 million in the value of a land donation by the Mat-Su Borough on property at the corner of Crusey and Swanson streets. State matching funds are expected to come in at about $8.2 million and another $600,000 would be raised through community fundraising.

Sullivan-Leonard’s proposal was given a green light Monday by a vote of 5-1, with councilman A.C. “Buzz” Buswell dissenting.

Buswell had countered with a sales tax proposal of his own that was similar to Rupright’s that called for a 1 percent hike with half for capital projects and half for the general fund. The difference between his and the mayor’s plan was that capital projects larger than $1 million would require voter approval. He also has argued that the general fund boost is necessary to off-set increased expenses in running a new library and/or other capital improvements as they’re completed.

In the end, Buswell’s plan failed to move through for a public hearing by a vote of 1-5, with Councilman Steve Lovell the lone “yes” vote.

City seeks volunteers

Wasilla has openings on several city committees and special boards and is seeking applicants willing to help.

• There is one seat open on the Wasilla Planning Commission.

• There are seven vacancies on the 40th Anniversary of Incorporation Committee.

• There are seven vacancies on the Centennial Celebration Committee.

• There are four vacancies on the city’s Garden Task Force.

More information about these committees or applications can be found at the city clerk’s office at Wasilla City Hall, 290 E. Herning Ave., or call 373-9090.

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.