By ALEX GIMARC
Suzanne wrote Nov 30 about the proposed 3% sales tax, AO 2025-133. The Assembly introduced the ordinance during its Dec 2 meeting. As is their custom, they “conveniently” (/sarc) delayed the item on the agenda until late in the meeting so as to inflict maximum inconvenience on taxpayers.
Taxpayers are promised property tax relief should the new sales tax be passed. Better yet, the tax is supposedly earmarked for an entire cornucopia of desirable public goodies including property tax relief, public safety (paying for LaFrance’s new, unaffordable union contracts with firefighters), infrastructure, childcare and housing. Cue the organ music.
These are empty promises, as money is fungible, and can slosh around between various line items in a budget like so much dirty water. Any new money dedicated to any of these categories will displace current spending in those categories, which will then be diverted to other things the Assembly and Mayor want to spend it on. Dedicated spending is little more than boob bait for bubbas, a bright shiny object to distract voters from what is really going on. The people pushing for it are counting on voter ignorance, greed and envy.
An immediate demonstration of this took place on Dec 2 when a representative of the non-profit community here in Anchorage pointed out all the “good” that community of publicly funded tax dollar leeches does and asked for an exemption from the proposed tax. Day one of the process. First round of public testimony.
Battlespace preparation is important when setting up tax increases. The LaFrance administration funded running local radio ads by an outfit calling itself Cheers to You Anchorage since early November, and perhaps starting as early as late October extolling the glorious wonders, smashing success of the 5% increase in alcohol tax passed April 2020.
The home page of their web site makes the following breathtaking claim:
The alcohol tax is dedicated to addressing public safety, child abuse and domestic violence, addiction and behavioral health, and homelessness.
Anyone else remember any or all of these problems going away since Jan 2021? Me neither. Note that this is similar to the list of promised wonders that should accrue of we only belly up to the bar and pass their wonderous new sales tax.
Suzanne notes that the Municipal Charter requires a 60% majority to pass any new sales tax. Since then, the Assembly has proposed and passed two other ncreases on a 50%+1 basis, ignoring the message that 62% of voters sent them when the Charter was amended in 1997. They propose to pass the sales tax on the same basis, likely using the dedicated funds canard as their excuse, like they did for the marijuana and alcohol sales tax increases.
So far, nobody has taken the Muni to state court for violating the Municipality Charter. Perhaps they should, though there is a risk. Today, there is an apparent conflict between what is in a Charter and what wins a Charter vote per state law. While state law does have numerous provisions for supermajorities to do various things, as far as I can tell, none of them apply to Home Rule Charters. On the other hand, we have a supermajority (3/5 or 60% winning vote) requirement to pass tax increases in the Muni Charter which has never been tested in court.
Should someone do this, there is the very real risk that one of the Alaska Judicial Council’s black robed demigods will wave their regal hand and toss out the 60% Municipal Charter supermajority limit on raising new taxes. Should that happen, it is a very real possibility the Alaska Supreme Court will agree, as they rarely see an expansion of government power, authority or budget that they don’t support.
Yes, there is a risk.
Our best approach, I think, is to fight tooth and nail to do everything humanly possible to keep the 3% sales tax, the proposed tax on short-term rentals (Bed and Breakfasts) and any other fetid emission from the fever swamp that passes for the Assembly brain trust off the ballot. If that fails, defeat it at the ballot box. And if all else fails, take it to court as a violation of the Municipal Charter.
Never forget that half the Assembly will be up for election in April, with all incumbents running on passing the tax. Let’s make that support as costly as humanly possible for them, defeating as many as we can.
This current crowd deserves not an additional penny, having squandered what they already get in bad policy, producing bad results, enriching their supporters and electing more democrats. Best solution is to just say no, though that means turning out to vote.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
One thought on “Alex Gimarc: Anchorage Assembly is looking longingly at your wallet”
If Conservatives and Republicans held Anchorage in its power would we listen to a small group of liberals screaming at us at the assembly mic for us to put budget aka Taxpayer funding back into union contracts, non profits and race associations or begging us to stop developing every square inch of municipal land for business like Florida is doing for its economy? No. We’d tell those non profits go be American go be accountable and responsible to make its own wealth.
These leftists have the power and they are using it how they best see fit even when their ideology crushed communities who have already tried their methods.
If you don’t like their direction. then sit on your neighborhood council and work your way up as all the Assembly members have done. Don’t think even for a minute relocating north to Wasilla-Palmer or to the South Sodotna-Kenai will improve one’s life because those regions are going left too, those people there are just in denial or arrogant to think they are so far moved away from Anchorage or Juneau and they can’t be touched by socialism or Marxism when it is already in every corner of the state because of the right are not taking a seat on their neighborhood councils.