Breaking: Anchorage Assembly blows through tax cap, violates charter with revised budget

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Assembly members Felix Rivera, Meg Zaletel, Daniel Volland, Anna Brawley, and Chris Constant, at the budget passage meeting in April.

The revised operating budget passed by the Anchorage Assembly earlier this week has blown through the tax cap, an action that makes the budget illegal because it violates the charter. This is a first time in Anchorage history that an Assembly has broken the law on the tax cap in 45 years since the tax cap was enacted by voters.

But Mayor Dave Bronson on Thursday offered an olive branch to the Assembly dominated by hostile leftists, saying he is willing to help bring the budget back into a legal framework. It is $605,147 over the tax cap due to a math error by the Assembly, he said in a statement.

During the budget meeting earlier this week, Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel commented that the budget was $500 under the tax cap. She was wrong.

“While it’s unfortunate the Assembly made this error, we will work with them to fix it,”  said Mayor Bronson. “Anchorage residents expect us to work together to solve problems, and we will do that. Budgets must be legal, adhere to fiscal policies, and protect taxpayers.”

The issue started when multiple amendments were assessed incorrectly, leading to a misunderstanding that the budget was within legal limits.

In contrast, the budget proposed by Mayor Bronson was designed to be $682,873 under the tax cap, reflecting his understanding of the financial limits and the current economic challenges faced by taxpayers, including continued inflation, his office said.

A special meeting has been scheduled for Friday, May 3, when the Assembly will have to correct the budget.

“Mayor Bronson remains committed to working closely with the Assembly to improve the budget process and maintain Anchorage’s fiscal integrity,” his office said.

45 COMMENTS

    • Big election coming, he wants to look like a good leader who will work w/ the children on our assembly.

    • Strategy. Made them look like the fools that they are and then framed the consequences under his own terms whereby the assembly has to either swallow the pill of his “help” or be in legal violation of their own charter (assuming they don’t amend the charter. Again)
      Well played, actually.

  1. The Masked Avenger has it right, the Commies who control the Assembly would let the Mayor swing in the breeze

    • Why is this getting to be a topic around? No matter how much I disagree with the lefty narrative, we really should not be judging people’s looks. With that being said, their souls are ugly…ugly as hell itself.

    • I sure have Dino! I theorize that their unattractive looks draw them together and why they embrace everything left. The climate, BLM, Hamas, lgbtxyz, protests, chanting, DEI, on and on. It becomes a club for ugliness where they can bond and be miserable about everything. Normal looking intelligent people are too busy leading a good life.

    • You mean ALL the lawsuits the muni has dumped upon him..just because they didn’t agree with the honest side of business.

  2. Voting for Lafrance only increases and exacerbates this problem.They continue to intentionally break the law and take more of your money/income through taxes, without regard for your necessary living expenses. They don’t care and know you won’t do anyrhing about it. Why are you voting for them? Even renters are paying more through higher prices and rent where the costs are passed on to them.

  3. What a great education these politicians have.
    They must have been in the public schools learning how to be uneducated And getting dumbed down.

      • It shows and it shows people who vote just look at the shinny object and not the poison needles sticking out.

  4. Poor judgment and poor decision making by the we know everything better assembly who obviously can’t do math. Assembly Only interested in taking and spending your money, controlling you, telling you what to do and how to do it. Assembly Uses the Obama doctrine of punishing our enemies and rewarding our friends that is Not the way government should be run. Follows their use and distribution of covid funds, including 1.6m thar was stolen under their watch. Lafrance would only make the problem worse. She uses Biden talking point of bringing everyone together which means everyone needs to do what I say, follow my agenda and is not allowed to question it.

  5. Hard to figure out what is available since the books have not been closed from last year. Bronson ran off the competent people.

    • So the people who get fired are the competent ones?
      Stick to the hot air balloon transport of heavy metals there Frank, this one seems to have escaped your reasoning faculties.

  6. If the assembly’s math, ideas and opinions were good, they wouldn’t go over the tax cap, and wouldn’t have to Force everyone to do things the assembly wants through mandates, ordinances, edicts, etc.

  7. This takes “taxing to the cap” to a whole other level!
    Sad! Either they are bumbling buffoons or it is a trial balloon to see how the people react, which will be difficult to judge since neither ADN nor KTUU make any mention of this.
    Again Kudos to Suzanne!
    One crystal clear fact however, Bronson had nothing to do with this one!

  8. The Assembly believes Anchorage taxpayers are fools. They were just re-elected. To them, it means that what they did during COVID was a-okay and that it’s time to double down. The budget means nothing to them – unless it’s a gotcha at the Mayor. And, Please, Zalatel is not going to even thing about fiscal responsibility as long as she’s benefitting from funding the homeless industrial complex. Why these people weren’t and aren’t voted out, I’ll never know. Why the DA or ombudsman or ethics committee hasn’t started investing this trifle conflict of interest is beyond me.

    • They are not voted out because government parasites keep them voted in.
      This is a very useful bunch come contract time (wages & bennies)
      It’s that simple.

      It’s practically a conflict of interest having government employees vote for their own bosses who will give them raises.

  9. This is why we need Bronson to fight for the tax payers of Anchorage and the liberal Joe Biden’s on the assembly.

  10. We can add but nobody said we’d need to know how to minus too! Better call Bronson for some hep!

  11. Nice move, Mayor Bronson.
    .
    Collaborative instead of combative.
    .
    Be nice, let the other side be not nice.
    .
    Maybe, just maybe, enough undecided voters will be persuaded by the difference.

    • Tactical move as well.
      Because Bronson offered to help, the assembly will automatically reject any help, and take the issue fully on their own shoulders.

  12. Tax cap? We don’t need no steenking tax cap!

    Is this intended as an in-kind donation for the LaFrance campaign? She has been remarkably quiet about this little stunt. Cheers –

  13. I sure hope all of you commenting are out working hard to get Bronson re elected! Ballot harvesting is legal. Just want to be sure you are doing more than just commenting!

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