ALLIANCE
OF CONCERNED TAXPAYERS (ACT)
NEWS
RELEASE
For
Immediate Release:
Group
forms to fight wasteful borough spending,
files referendum that will force a public
vote for proposed emergency response center
in Soldotna.
Soldotna,
Alaska (February
28, 2005)
--
There are a number of fundamental taxation
and spending issues brewing in the Kenai
Peninsula Borough. A new peninsula wide
taxpayer group is forming to fight
irresponsible borough spending and proposed
tax increases. Today the group called
“Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers (ACT) began
challenging borough fiscal policies by
filing a referendum that will force a public
vote on the proposed emergency response
center in Soldotna.
“Since Mayor
Bagley was first elected to office, the
borough savings account has gone from almost
$30 million with a balanced budget, down to
about $13 million in savings with a $7
million budget deficit. To lay all the
blame for this fiscal mess on Mayor Bagley
would be unfair to him, as the budget and
all special appropriations require a
majority vote of the assembly to pass,” said
Vicki Pate a referendum co-sponsor.
Borough
Finance Director Scott Holt predicted during
the first budget workshop with the assembly
that there will be a $7 million deficit in
the proposed FY06 budget. Mr. Holt offered
a list of possible tax increases to close
this deficit. The list included an increase
of: the sales tax percentage, property tax
mil rate, sales tax maximum for each sale,
and elimination of tax exemptions enacted by
ordinance. During this meeting the option
of reduced spending was listed but no
details were given.
“With a
shrinking revenue base and higher taxes
looming, the assembly’s decision to spend
public money for construction of an
unnecessary new building presented the first
issue for ACT to diligently pursue. The new
borough emergency response center in
Soldotna came onto the group’s radar screen
for a number of reasons.
-
The
first issue was why this project did not
use land already owned by the borough.
Instead the borough purchased three
prime lots in downtown Soldotna for
$198,000.
-
The
second issue was why not use an existing
borough owned building, such as schools
already closed or soon to be closed.
-
The
third issue was why the borough did not
consider a more cost-effective solution,
such as a long term lease in the PRISM
building. This building was
specifically designed for such a
purpose, has line of sight radio access
to Anchorage and is located near the
Kenai airport, making it a logical
choice for an office of emergency
management location, in case of an
actual disaster.
-
Finally
there is the issue of why this project
was not put to a public vote. The first
phase of construction cost has been
deliberately held below the assembly’s
current $1.5 million authorization limit
for capital projects. However when
equipment, landscaping, paved parking
lots and furniture are added later the
borough’s cost could be well over the
$1.5 million cap”, said Ruby Kime the
Referendum prime sponsor.
Today ACT
members submitted a referendum to the
Borough Clerk. This referendum is designed
to force a public vote on the issue. Once
this referendum has been certified by the
clerk, it will be circulated borough wide
for voter signatures. The process takes
about six months to complete before the
election is held.
“It was
named the ‘Sturman Referendum’ in honor of
Soldotna resident Fred Sturman. Mr. Sturman
has testified in opposition to this project
many times. Over the years he has been one
of the few citizens that regularly give his
opinion at assembly meetings. Most of the
time Mr. Sturman, like others testifying in
opposition to desires of the assembly, is
routinely ignored. Many of his warnings and
predictions have come true over time, such
as the public employee (PERS) and public
teachers (TRS) retirement system calamity.
This emergency operations center issue like
so many others in the past is about the best
use of public tax dollars”, said Mike
McBride a referendum co-sponsor.
McBride went
on to say, “there was a similar situation
last year in Nikiski where a service area
board wanted to spend over $1 million to
open a recreation center in an old school
and the assembly readily agreed. A
citizen’s initiative put a question on the
ballot in the fall 2004 municipal election.
The taxpayers of Nikiski approved
Proposition 4, which forced a vote on this
issue. After this vote the service area
board decided not to put their $1 million
project on a ballot, and quietly found a way
to occupy the building for about $75,000.
This is an excellent example of how citizen
involvement in the public process can save
taxpayers money”!
The Sturman
Referendum currently has 34 co-sponsors
listed with more adding their name each
day. Co-sponsors are the only people
authorized to collect the 1530 registered
voter signatures required to put this issue
on a ballot.
In addition
to co-sponsors collecting signatures,
financial assistance is needed to cover
legal and advertisement cost for this
campaign. Anyone
interested in helping should contact ACT
immediately.
“From my
perspective peninsula residents have a clear
choice; whimper in silence about high taxes
until all your money is gone, or become
involved in the process. ACT has made it
easy for taxpayers to become involved”, said
Fred Sturman the referendum alternate
sponsor. For additional information about
this citizen effort contact the Alliance of
Concerned Taxpayers at 776-5444.
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