Anchorage voters to see increase in property taxes with majority of municipal election propositions passing
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - If the current trend in this year’s municipal election in Anchorage continues, propositions with money attached to them could cost area property taxpayers about $124 million.
As of Wednesday night, seven of nine propositions were passing, though not all of them have associated dollar costs to the public.
Election data will be updated multiple times before results are certified, but at the moment, only two propositions are shown as not being supported widely enough to pass. One of those is a proposition for cemetery improvements, and another particularly highly-debated proposition would fund areawide public restrooms.
Most cover different capital improvements across the municipality, although one proposition — Prop 2 — is not funding-related and demands that confirmation of any new chief medical officer for the MOA go through the Anchorage Assembly first.
Prop 1, focused on education funding for the purposes of capital improvements, construction, upgrades, planning and design of schools and other related facilities, comes at a price of more than $62.3 million in general obligation bonds, which would mean an annual increase in taxes of about $12.69 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. The proposition has the largest price tag of all of the propositions on this year’s municipal election ballot.
Prop 3, which addresses Anchorage roads and drainage bonds, would cost the public about $47 million for capital improvements related to roads and storm drains within the Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area. This means the tax burden would not apply to property owners in areas such as Girdwood, Chugiak, and Eagle River.
This proposition also makes up a large part of the overall cost to taxpayers in this year’s city election. About $6 million of that money within Prop 3 would go toward snow removal, with $1 million slated for equipment and $5 million set to help with costs of a snow disposal site in West Anchorage.
Another big chunk of the funding — well past $22 million — would pay for various upgrades related to resurfacing. Those include but are not limited to $3.8 million for a second phase of resurfacing 36th Avenue from Latouche Street to Lake Otis Parkway; $8.6 million for upgrades along 42nd Avenue from Lake Otis to Florina Street; and approximately $7 million for surface rehabilitation along Northern Lights Boulevard from Lake Otis to Bragaw Street, totaling more than $22 million.
For multiple projects focused primarily on drainage, those will see at least $6.5 million in funding from the proposition, if it passes.
Prop 4, which is dedicated to capital improvement projects in Anchorage parks and recreation areas, would allow the municipality to borrow and issue up to $4.35 million in bonds to renovate, rehabilitate, and make other improvements at locations across the city. The passage of the bond would cost property taxpayers an additional $1.04 per $100,000 in assessed property value.
Prop 5, if passed, would pay for reconstructing the roof at the Anchorage Police Department’s Elmore Station, with that money also going toward renovating the heating system there. This would be without cost to properties in Girdwood, Bird, Indian, Rainbow, Portage, and any other areas outside the service area, but would increase taxes by about $0.31 per $100,000 of assessed taxable property value for those who reside within the service area.
Prop 6, a proposition focused on public safety and transit within the municipal, would pass to the tune of about $0.93 for every $100,000 of assessed taxable property value. The funds would go toward replacement ambulance and other transit vehicles and equipment, as well as improvements to the city’s signal system, signage, traffic calming methods, and safety mechanisms.
The money would also help cover school zone and bus stop improvements, via a bond of up to $4.56 million in principal amount of general obligation bonds.
Prop 9 would help cover additions and improvements for roads and parking areas connected with trailheads in Chugach State Park and trailheads within the Chugach State Park Access Service Area, with a price tag of $4 million in bonds. If passed, this would cost taxpayers approximately $0.95 per $100,000 of assessed taxable property value.
Prop 7 and Prop 8 — related to capital improvements to cemeteries within the municipality and the building of public restrooms across Anchorage, respectively — are currently failing, with voters declining to cover either as of Wednesday night. Together, it would cost taxpayers about $1.84 per $100,000 of assessed taxable property value for both bonds to be retired, should they end up passing.
As it stands, the seven currently-passing propositions would break down to about $28.35 for every $100,000 in assessed value.
The certification of the Regular Municipal Election is slated for April 23, at that evening’s meeting of the Anchorage Assembly.
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
