Unlike its neighbor in Anchorage, the Mat-Su Borough is not in a “civil emergency.”
In fact, the Borough Assembly says it has a surplus. That means, under one circumstance at least, there could be rebates to property taxpayers.
In its budget built earlier this year, the Mat-Su Assembly presumed that Gov. Michael Dunleavy would indeed veto much of the school bond debt reimbursement, as a way to balance the State budget.
The Mat-Su Borough, where most of the growth has been in the state for families, also has the most school bond debt per capita — $18.4 million.
But through some program cuts and other measures, the Assembly has managed to balance its budget, and has a surplus of about $9 million, which the Assembly decided it’s not going to touch at this time.
If the governor decides to not veto more than the 50 percent he already vetoed from the school bond debt reimbursement, the Assembly agreed this week to rebate money to property taxpayers.
In years past, the State paid up to 70 percent of the bonds that voters in local sub-units of government approved; property taxpayers only paid 30 percent. Gov. Michael Dunleavy has cut that payment to 50 percent.
Although some have asked for a sales tax in the borough, there appears to be little support for or need for it at this time.
