By BOB MAIER
As Anchorage navigates our governance it is increasingly evident that the lack of transparency in fiscal matters has eroded the public trust. This was evidenced by the discussions resulting in the recent efforts to implement an Anchorage sales tax.
An effort needs to be made by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and Assembly Chair Christopher Constant to bolster the public trust by including the annual Tax Cap Calculation and an annual review of all real properties exempted from taxation into the independently audited Anchorage Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – (CAFR).
The Tax Cap Calculation, expressed as a mathematical formula, is a crucial component of Anchorage’s fiscal framework. The formula is designed to protect property owners from significant tax increases while ensuring that the Municipality can generate sufficient revenue to meet its obligations. The formula starts with the previous year’s tax receipts and then is adjusted for several variables. Bonds approved by voters, new construction, the Consumer Price Index, lawsuit settlements and changes in population are the factors determining the new taxation amount.
Having an independent set of eyes review that the numbers being placed in the formula are the correct numbers is long overdue.
Secondly, Property Tax Exemptions must be independently audited on an annual basis. A listing of all exempted properties should be available on the Municipal website. Exemptions granted for various businesses, non-profits and personal residences should not be granted unless there is a public hearing. The hearing should clearly identify the property ID number, address and the names of the owner(s). Also needed to be provided is an estimate of the amount of tax that will be avoided both annually and over the term of the exemption.
A recent article in Must Read Alaska dated July 31, 2025 dealing with the process of how the Fire Island Bakery received a tax exemption exemplified the need for this annual independent review of all exemptions.
The primary purpose of including the Tax Cap Calculation and all properties exempted from taxation in the annual CAFR audit is not to find errors or omissions in the financial dealings of the municipality. Rather it is to ensure all residents, city officials, creditors, bond houses and any others interested in the records of the municipality that the items under audit have been prepared with due care and diligence and are in accordance with the appropriate financial standards.
Perhaps these independently audited components will build public trust and allow the conversation about an Anchorage Sales Tax to continue. But having made these arguments during the debate concerning the Anchorage Alcohol Tax … I doubt it.
Bob Maier is an Anchorage resident and also a property taxpayer and utility ratepayer.
The tax and spend assembly extends exemptions to their supporters and taxes to the limit the rest of us. On top of that, there has been the continual movement by the assembly to move items out from under the cap in order to increase the theft from the residents. As long as the current RICO violation is operational on the assembly, the taxpayer is screwed.
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!
Maier writes that the Property Tax Exemptions must be independently audited on an annual basis and exempted properties with all pertinent information must be listed on a website available for public review. The large four-bedroom home across the street from me is owned by a non-profit and is fully exempt. One man has lived there for years (he might have taken a housemate very recently), but generally uses the driveway and lawn to park four large vehicles (including a tour bus that rarely moves). There might be another car in the garage? The guy who owns this four-bedroom that is nothing more than a parking lot pays no property tax.
[Also, I am aware of one property where the owner receives an owner-occupied reduction on a duplex he owns in Anchorage. However, the owner moved to Georgia (not with the military) two years ago and continues to receive an owner-occupied property tax reduction for the duplex. I reported this situation to the Muni. It appears the Muni has no process to collect property tax credits given fraudulently or in error. We must now consider the property tax reduction this guy has received fraudulently for at least two years nothing more than a gift the Muni has given to this property owner who lives full-time in Georgia.]
You won’t get any transparency under the current municipal administration and assembly. I doubt anyone there even knows what transparency means.