Anchorage residents stayed late into Tuesday night to testify against the Assembly’s proposed 3% sales tax, an ordinance critics say is regressive, unnecessary, and potentially unlawful under the city charter.
Although the hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, the Assembly placed it deliberately at the very end of an already long agenda, and public testimony did not begin until late in the evening, after many working families had no choice but to leave.
Even so, about 30 residents waited it out and offered remarks. Only two spoke in favor of the measure.
Those who opposed it ranged in age from teenagers to seniors in their 80s. Some were regular observers of city government, but many had never set foot inside the Assembly Chamber before and were getting their first, and for some, disillusioning glimpse of how the Assembly conducts business. The speakers represented every corner of town and every walk of life, from a former Alaska attorney general to residents who said plainly, “My budget is so tight I don’t have 3% to give.”
The testimony touched every concern: That the tax is outside the limits of the city charter; that Anchorage has heard tax promises before, such as the alcohol tax that was supposed to solve social ills, but clearly hasn’t; that the burden of a sales tax falls hardest on families living paycheck to paycheck. Over the course of the evening, the public managed to lay out the entire spectrum of objections, unified around one theme: Anchorage does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. Some took it further, calling it a leadership problem.
But what many will remember most from the hearing was not just the testimony. It was the treatment they received.
One woman waited five hours for her chance to speak. When she finally reached the microphone, Assembly Chair Chris Constant had started her three-minute clock early. She politely asked for it to be reset. Constant refused. For residents watching, it symbolized the dismissive posture critics say the Assembly majority shows toward ordinary citizens, especially those stepping into the process for the first time.
Americans for Prosperity-Alaska State Director Brett Huber admonished the Assembly for its behavior, reminding members that many of the people in the room had never before participated in local government. Rather than treating newcomers with respect and encouraging civic engagement, the majority acted, he said, as though they did not want public involvement at all.
At one point, when a testifier posed a rhetorical question, the chair curtly responded, “We do not answer your questions.” To many in the room, it came across as: “We’re the authority. Say your piece and be gone.”
Near 11 pm, the Assembly wrapped up testimony and announced a second public hearing for Jan. 13. The Assembly leadership intend to push the measure onto the April ballot and the public hearings are perfunctory. Several speakers warned the Assembly that residents see exactly what is happening: pushing a controversial tax through under the guise of process while limiting meaningful participation.
Some also argued that the ballot question itself may be legally challengeable. The Assembly has rewritten the threshold for passage to require only 50% plus one, a departure from what many residents say the charter requires for establishing a general sales tax.
If Tuesday night made anything clear, it is that Anchorage residents, across age groups, neighborhoods, and economic backgrounds, are watching. And they’re not convinced the Assembly majority is listening.
Huber said he will be holding town meetings about the proposed tax between now and Jan. 13 in order to ensure that Anchorage residents know what is coming at them.
This is our moment: Show up to Anchorage Assembly meeting and testify on 3% sales tax
8 thoughts on “Anchorage residents turn out late into the night to oppose Assembly’s proposed 3% sales tax”
Captain Obvious says …
Clearly, the Assembly is not listening to the Anchorage Taxpayers, they haven’t and they wont(!!!), so it’s probably due time to take matters into your own hands and deal with these thieves on the Assembly, in a matter that is appropriate and warranted. Until then, continue to roll-over like a trained seals at the circus and eat the free cheese.
Agreed! The Assembly has never listened and never will. It’s their way or the highway. The biggest thieves in the city in my opinion. Gross!!!
I don’t live in Anchorage anymore. We moved to the valley last January, but we did live there for 25 years and I always thought it strange that there was no sales tax to help the home owners take care of city needs. My husband and I were married 60 years ago in Petersburg, Alaska and there was already a 3% city sales tax.
Insist that they make this first on the list instead of last. They did this in order to make people leave
You can complain and play victim of todays anchorage poor leaders, OR you can find out your neighborhood community council (if you don’t know) and start from the ground up knowing Anchorage and district and maybe (God willing) the right will dominate the community councils and eventually the Assembly.
There are more than enough residents against the current direction that you all could start flipping councils.
A speaker said 80% don’t like the direction Anchorages is going. That means at least 50% are from different councils who all could flip their councils in January
Then! You’ll be able to meet one n one with Assembly members since they all attend their neighborhood council each month. That’s the appropriate time to talk with them and when you two will have more time to talk than 3minutes
I thought they said the next hearing is DEC. 13. Did I hear it wrong?!
December 13 is a Saturday. That would certainly be novel and they would receive MANY comments.
January 13 is a Tuesday, normal for Assembly meetings in L.A.
P.S. I recall reading December 13 somewhere as well. Maybe worth confirming….
I used to go and take part in listening to our Assembly,, Several years at the beginning of covid, but after one week I realized they don’t really want to hear from us and if/when they do, they don’t care what we say, they vote however they want..We can come and speak out minds on any subject, but if it doesn’t follow their plans, they shut us down. I’ve seen this many times on assembly meetings when they were on ch 16. I’ve seen them shut down the meetings before the people had a chance to speak, and they always delayed the discussions KNOWING many of people would not be able to speak.