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"Spotlight on Juneau" "An Informed Voter Is The Best Defense Against Bad Government"
March 4, 2005 _______________
MATSU TAXPAYER GROUP FORMED TO SLOW BOROUGH GROWTH
Mat-Su Taxpayers Association campaign "TAX CAP - YES" is gaining momentum. They began collecting signatures January 18 and will continue until May 19. MSTA needs to collect the signatures of 1788 registered voters of the MatSu borough. Because there are usually some rejected signatures, organizers plan to collect about 2500 to be on the safe side. There is a web site with additional information, and anyone interested in signing the initiative, or help collect signatures should contact the Mat-Su Taxpayers Association at: tax_cap@yahoo.com. _______________
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CON BUNDE - A GOOD STATE IS A POLICE STATE?
March 3, 2005 Juneau, Alaska -- 10 Senators joined Con Bunde, Republican of Anchorage by voting in favor of Senate Bill 87. This proposed legislation will permit police to pull drivers over with no probable cause on the pretense of checking to see if a seat belt is being worn. The Senators claim their measure will save lives and money, but fail to mention elimination of one more personal civil liberty.
Joining Bunde in voting to trash the Bill of Rights were Senators Cowdery, Elton, French, Guess, Seekins, Stedman, Stevens B, Therriault, Wagoner, and Wilken. Senate Bill 87 now moves to the House for consideration. Click on the LINKS page for a complete list of ways to contact the legislature. _______________
CITIZEN GROUP FILES STATEWIDE INITIATIVE TO REPEAL ELF
The original severance tax rate on most North
Slope oil was 15%. The Economic Limit Factor, better known as ELF,
was an afterthought lobbied through by oil companies. The Economic
Limit Factor is a mathematical formula by which the oil company tax
breaks get bigger every year.
An excellent power point presentation is available which will help citizens of Alaska understand this important issue. It is interesting to see the impact of changes proposed by this legislation using projections provided by the Alaska Department of Revenue (DOR). Everyone is encouraged to get informed and then contact your legislators with comments and suggestions.
ELF Initiative Prime Sponsors are Ray Metcalfe and Robert Buch, of Anchorage and James Price of Kenai. Click HERE to view status of this and all statewide initiatives. _______________
KENAI PENINSULA TAXPAYERS FORMING GROUP TO CHALLENGE BOROUGH'S EXCESSIVE SPENDING Soldotna, Alaska (February 28, 2005) -- There are a number of fundamental taxation and spending issues brewing in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. A new peninsula wide taxpayer group is forming to fight irresponsible borough spending and proposed tax increases. The group is called “Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers (ACT) and they plan to began challenging borough fiscal policies in the next few weeks. “Since Mayor Bagley was first elected to office, the borough savings account has gone from almost $30 million with a balanced budget, down to about $13 million in savings with a $7 million budget deficit today. To lay all the blame for this fiscal mess on Mayor Bagley would be unfair to him, as the budget and all special appropriations require a majority vote of the assembly to pass,” said Vicki Pate a group spokesperson. Borough Finance Director Scott Holt predicted during the first budget workshop with the assembly that there will be a $7 million deficit in the proposed FY06 budget. Mr. Holt offered a list of possible tax increases to close this deficit. The list included an increase of: the sales tax percentage, property tax mil rate, sales tax maximum for each sale, and elimination of tax exemptions enacted by ordinance. During this meeting the option of reduced spending was listed but no details were given. “From my perspective peninsula residents have a clear choice; whimper in silence about high taxes until all your money is gone, or become involved in the process. ACT has made it easy for taxpayers to become involved”, said Fred Sturman of the group's issue steering committee. For additional information about this citizen effort on the Kenai Peninsula contact the Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers at (907) 776-5444 or email: act_kpb@yahoo.com. |
