The Municipality of Anchorage’s contracted ballot printer will mail ballot packages Tuesday that include both candidates and a dozen bond measures for the upcoming April 1 election. Drop boxes will open Wednesday and voters also have the option of mailing in their ballots.
Every year Anchorage voters are faced with bonds and tax-cap busting propositions. Last year there were nine, and in 2023 there were 15 on the local ballot.
If voters approve all 12 bonds and special tax areas, it will burden property owners collectively with more than $100 million in new debt. That would cost the average Anchorage homeowner, depending on what part of the city they live, close to $300 in new property taxes a year until the bonds expire.
The most expensive bond, Proposition One, will borrow close to $64 million and add $52 to the cost of property taxes for the average homeowner.
The bond reads in part: “For the purpose of providing educational capital improvements, construction, upgrades, planning, design, and renovation of school facilities and educational facility building life extension projects within Anchorage, as provided in AO 2024-115, shall Anchorage borrow money and issue up to $63,822,000 in principal amount of general obligation bonds?”
Proposition Three, an $8.5 million bond, allows the city to borrow money while busting the tax cap. The largest part of the spending will go to lavish up Town Square in the heart of downtown Anchorage.
Town Square has in recent years become a hang out for mostly teen age gangs, vagrants, and drug pushers.
If voters do approve the tax cap busting bond, it’s doubtful most of those who typically hang out in Town Square will help carry the financial burden of the bond.
According to the real estate website, Rocket.com, the average price of a home in Anchorage in 2025 is up more than 6% over last year and sits at close to $400,000 a year.
The website, Ownwell, reports Anchorage homeowner’s typical annual property tax bill of more than $5,600 is double of the national medium homeowner in the U.S. The median household income in Anchorage is approximately $95,000.
In April of last year, Anchorage voters approved another slew of bond proposals adding more than $125 million in debt to homeowners. If voters do the same this year, Anchorage voters will have burdened property owners with more than $225 million in new taxes in a 12 month period.
Earlier this week, Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness executive director Meg Zaletel warned of a housing affordability crisis in Alaska’s largest city.
“In just two-and-a-half days, 1,300 households said they were either 14 days from losing their housing or already experiencing homelessness,” Zaletel told Alaska Public Media.
“That’s shocking, quite frankly,” she added. “Those households, 808 of them have a child.”
If Anchorage voters approve the more than $100 million in new bonds, the number of victims of the “housing affordability crisis” will only grow.
You can read more about each bond proposal by clicking on this link.
Dan Fagan reports and writes columns for Must Read Alaska. He’s covered Alaska politics for close to 30-years. He currently hosts a morning drive radio talk show on 1020 am 92.5 and 104.5 fm on KVNT. For news tips, email Dan at [email protected].
NO
On all bonds. Ever.
Enough with the taxation.
Anchorage projects should come out of the budget process where proper vetting can take place. Bonds have to come out of our property taxes and are voted on by people who don’t necessarily pay taxes.
“NO” … Prop: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
“YES” … Prop: 2 and 4.
Lisa rigged it don’t waste your time voting in anchorage, DEVILCRATS have hung themselves GOD will not be mocked we are playing for keeps, we are on earth to expose ourselves good or evil exposed. The governor should have used his authority booooooooooooo Mikey weakness is evil sir. MAGA so help you GOD oath takers pay up time is at hand
Not voting is exactly what the liberals and unions want.
Solid “no” across the board for all bond initiatives (especially the homeless ones) from me.
Doesn’t matter what the readers want here. Unless we move elections to November when Republicans vote, the Union phone banks and the Muni workers vote in April elections. Everyone else has lives and doesn’t pay attention to April elections.
It is amazing the Republican party doesn’t push to move elections to November like the valley did.
I’ve voted against every bond proposition in every election since 1988.
Only property owners should be able to vote.
Home insurance up 30%
Car insurance up 31%
Grocery up 35+ %
Prop tax increases never stop
Unconstitutional by the way
No on all bonds
No bonds, assembly needs to live within their means.
For some reason, they can never find the money to help the police and fire fighters. Nor can they find the money to rejuvenate the library. They even have a tough time finding the money to keep the roads plowed.
.
But, they never seem to have any problem finding millions to cater to the wants of the homeless. What did they spend on housing alone? $3.5M or something like that?
.
But, they could not afford to spend $3.4M for the police. They could not afford $2.4M for fire protection. $3M for police vehicles? Too much. $3M for homeless? Not enough.
The last tally, for 7 mos. of cold weather housing in 3 hotels + support, was $25,000,000 for the whole enchilada. We could repave/repair a lot of road sections for that.
The quick answer, too much.
We pay more and more and more in taxes and get more and more and more decline in educational testing and a huge chunk of that money is spent on the least productive people in our society. Close the bum camps. Hold them accountable for their behavior. The assembly has created a major public health situation, it has to end.
What will it cost you? Every cent you have.
Just say “No”!
I have not voted for bonds in a very long time. Over the years it has become apparent that the school district does not budget for repairs, rather they bond for EVERYTHING!
Instead of looking at capital improvement and construction, the school district should be looking at consolidating schools and selling or leasing extraneous buildings. They would save money in upkeep/utilities and make extra cash with sale or lease. I know it makes too much sense.
As for Meg and her cohorts, since the coalition to end homelessness is, they had years to “End Homelessness” only to have the numbers skyrocket. Let’s start a “DEFUND ACEH” movement and instead use the money for law enforcement, fixing all those crater size potholes, or, novel thought, for property tax relief, so people can afford rent or stay in their homes….
Lets see: Mail in ballots + long time counting + mostly liberal city workers/Anchorage assembly = ? outcome.
Makes me wonder…Why can’t this system be trusted?
What happened to the proposed Anchorage sales tax?
I recall going to an assembly meeting during COVID – their agenda included this issue.
Many people were in attendance waiting to address the assembly about the shut downs, required mask wearing, 6′ rule, shopping isle arrows, mandated vaccines – to name a few.
Until around midnight, we were held hostage by the Assembly as the other issues and speakers were allowed to address their requests first.
What I found most interesting was when a builder got up to seek access permissions to the homes he was building. The assembly asked him how many homes and how much the homes would be valued at…he replied “around 1 $$ million each”, and guess what!! His request was quickly approved right there on the spot.
I wonder why?
Inquiring minds want to know: why so many muni workers – Fire, Police included – live in Wasilla and Palmer?
Like Pavlov’s dogs, the Liberals of Anchorage check mark any proposition for parks & rec and schools. As if throwing more money at failure is going to somehow “make things better” for the children, the elderly, the minorities, the earth. After last week’s shameful conduct at the JAC, in which no Dems clapped/wept for soldiers, children, tr@ns-injured girls, illegals-raped & murdered girls, a black 13-year old cancer survivor getting his wish – and now they want to kill Elon. I’ll never believe the Dem posturing again, Kabuki. It’s a sick Stockholm syndrome they have.