ACT NEWS

Kenai, AK
Sep. 8, 2005

New Comic Strip

ACT adds political comic strip to our website home page. Archive of previous comics can be found here.

Referendum Deadline

The deadline to return signature booklets for ACT XX is October 10. ACT XX is the referendum to repeal KPB Ordinance 2005-09.

Ordinance 2005-09 was Mayor Bagley’s “revenue enhancement measure” which does the following three things:

1. Increases the borough-wide sales tax from 2% to 3%
2. It also creates a new formula for calculating sales tax on packaged recreational trips and equipment rental which puts a huge paperwork burden on small businesses for a relatively small increase in tax revenue.
3. Ordinance 2005-09 allows transfer of money from our land trust fund principal into the borough’s general fund. As the borough sells land, proceeds are deposited in the land trust fund. When all borough land has been sold, this trust fund will be all that remains. Normally trust funds do not spend principal, only the interest. That way they continue to provide revenue for future generations long after the original funding source is gone. Ordinance 2005-09 is a short sighted measure that will tap the principal and limit growth of the trust fund by providing a mechanism for annual withdrawals.