ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TAXPAYERS
(ACT)
Press Release
October 18, 2005
Two days after the Borough Assembly
certified the 2005 municipal election
results Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers
(ACT) officials submitted their first
offering for the 2006 election. On Thursday
an ACT referendum was filed with the Kenai
Peninsula Borough Clerk’s office that could
repeal KPB Ordinance 2005-09. Once this
Referendum is certified, Mayor Bagley’s
“Revenue Enhancement Measures” Ordinance
2005-09 could be repealed by voters before
it becomes law.
Soldotna,
Alaska
(October 18, 2005) – Mayor Bagley introduced
Ordinance 2005-09 on March 15, 2005.
Bagley’s “revenue enhancement measures”
ordinance had four public hearings before
passing the assembly with a 6 to 3 vote on
June 7. The next day, volunteers from the
Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers submitted a
petition to repeal it.
Ordinance 2005-09 as adopted is made up of
three main elements. It allows a
substantial withdrawal from the borough land
trust fund this budget year and provides a
mechanism for future annual withdrawals from
the fund’s principal. This ordinance also
forces tourism businesses to calculate sale
tax using a complicated formula. The third
element called for raising the borough wide
sales tax rate from 2% to 3%.
Referendum
Alternate Prime Sponsor James Price stated,
“This referendum gives voters the final word
on the important issues contained in
Ordinance 2005-09. To use earnings of the
Land Trust Fund for general government
spending is one thing, but Ordinance 2005-09
went far beyond that by withdrawing money
from the principle which is bad fiscal
policy for any public trust fund. This
would be like the state legislature making a
withdrawal from the Permanent Fund principal
without a vote of the people”.
“Ordinance
2005-09 singled out one small part of the
business community and would have forced
them to calculate sales tax on recreational
packages using a complicated and labor
intensive formula with little increase in
revenue to the borough. The assembly should
never pass laws that make the Kenai
Peninsula a less attractive tourist
destination or make it a difficult place for
business to operate. They should always
look for ways to balance the budget without
hurting our economy or robbing from the
future,” said Ruby Kime, a referendum
co-sponsor.
Referendums are one of the tools available
to citizens unhappy with actions taken by
state or local government. Referendums
allow a public vote that could repeal
specific laws passed by the governing body.
It is an important part of the “check and
balance” system of any good government.
“There are some serious legal issues with
Ordinance 2005-09”, explained Mike McBride,
ACT President. “The borough claims they do
not have to comply with state laws governing
municipalities wishing to increase their
sales tax. It is our position that the
assembly should have complied with AS
29.45.670, which clearly say’s any increase
in sales tax rate by ordinance needs a
public vote to take effect. In Ordinance
2005-09 the assembly chose not to follow
state law. This gave us limited choices of
filing suit to force compliance or filing a
referendum to repeal their action. We chose
the latter option and are confident the
public will know what to do when this issue
gets on the ballot”.
"This referendum gives peninsula residents
an opportunity to say, ‘Whoa’! Do we really
want to raid the principal of our Land Trust
Fund? This referendum gives us a year to
educate ourselves and talk about taking
making such a big step. This issue is too
important to just fly under everyone's
radar, because once all borough land has
been sold the funding source for this trust
fund dries up leaving future generations
with nothing," said Vicki Pate, a referendum
co-sponsor.
The KPB Clerk has until October 27 to verify
the required signatures and certify the
referendum petition. Once certified this
ACT sponsored referendum will freeze
Ordinance 2005-09 until the October 2006
election when voters will decide weather to
repeal the ordinance or allow it to take
effect.
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