 By Don Hoff Jr. September 23, 2005
Consolidation of the Borough government and City government will come with a high price tag. Why would the Borough residents, Hyder and Meyers Chuck, Alaska vote for consolidation for services that they won't or never receive? "The Charter Commissioners agreed to remove the property tax cap of ten mills in favor of a supermajority vote to raise property taxes," says Chairman Glen Thompson. The commissioners also addressed the city's concern over a supermajority vote for fee increases and decided to remove that and allow a simple majority to rule for fee hikes. There will be two public hearings for comments on any property tax increases caused by consolidation in the near future. I strongly urge the electors that oppose consolidation and any increases in property taxes go testify at all the public hearings and tell them no to consolidation. It takes the majority vote from the Borough residents and the majority of the City residents to consolidate the two governments. The history of consolidation vote in Ketchikan always failed and never got the majority Borough vote for good reasons outlined above. This is another great waste of your local and state tax dollars being wasted by your local politicians from the Borough and City governments. There is an election coming up soon and vote out the folks that want to run you into the poor house. In closing, I wonder who is pulling the strings of the blundering politicians in Ketchikan. It is the same people that want the bridge to nowhere, dock expansion and open up more timber to line their pockets. This is my own super meddler's opinion, Neil. Don Hoff Jr.
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sitnews.
|