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In advance of the April 6 Anchorage municipal election, the Anchorage Daily News asked candidates running for Anchorage mayor a series of issue questions. These include questions suggested by readers. Read all the mayor and school board candidates’ responses here.
Q: Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low? Explain.
Too high.
Specifically, property taxes in Anchorage are too high, and they are increasing far too fast. Many of us, especially the elderly, are being taxed out of the homes we’ve built and lived in for decades. These increases are being driven by our municipal spending. Without dealing forcefully and effectively with our spending, we will simply not be able to manage this ever-increasing property tax burden. To sustain a balanced budget without increased taxation will require reducing costs and streamlining services. This is my goal.
Property taxes are too high for residential property owners who bear the brunt of municipal government. Other than taxes on tourism, gas and vices, Anchorage doesn’t have any significant taxes. It’s not a realistic approach to good government to have such a sparse tax base and burden property taxpayers so dramatically. Anchorage needs to start looking at alternative revenue sources. So, given that taxes, other than property taxes are comparatively very low, we need to look at taxes in completely new areas like online sales, goods transported through our city infrastructure and utilization of our airport’s duty-free status to gain revenue.
No one likes paying taxes, and holding down the tax burden while maintaining adequate levels of police, fire, snow removal and other services is a key balancing act for any administration. Candidates who promise giant tax cuts without equal cuts to core services are either misinformed or attempting to deceive voters. That being said, Anchorage is over-reliant on property taxes, particularly residential property taxes. We have taken steps in recent years to diversify our revenue streams through efforts like the motor fuels tax and the interest revenues from the ML&P sale. As we look to meet increased costs of infrastructure maintenance and development in the future, we should work hard to look for sources of revenues other than property taxes, such as cost-causer/cost-payer utility fees.
Overall taxation is low, which is a good thing. It is, however, too heavily focused on property taxes, which is a bad thing. The overemphasis on property taxes hinders the creation of affordable housing and too often forces families to have to sell lifelong homes in order to downsize during their retirement years. A more diversified tax base would be more equitable and would allow for greater flexibility and greater potential for investment in needed infrastructure.
Anchorage’s taxation is about right for the level of service it currently provides. To put it in perspective, Anchorage is today one of the least-taxed large cities in America — and provisions of our local municipal charter mean local policy choices are unlikely to cause that to change. Voters adopted a tax cap in 1983 that limits and ties permissible increases in local taxes to changes in inflation, population and new construction. The tax cap has forced a fiscal discipline on the city and placed a premium on administrations finding new efficiencies; hiring 100 new officers, for instance, could not be accomplished without finding cuts elsewhere in the municipal budget.
Too high. Valuations are also too high. I know what I can acquire or build in other states and what their tax rate currently is on their books. I would subsidize joint-ventures into private equity, not new taxes or debt.
We have a tax cap that limits the amount of taxes the municipality can collect. However, with limited alternative revenue sources, property taxpayers pay the bulk of the amount. Most importantly, it is critical for people to understand that we pay for the level of services that we want. I do believe we can improve service delivery without raising taxes, but to do more, we will need to be creative with new revenue sources.
Taxation is just about right. Having said that, we need to be ever-diligent about how government is spending the money entrusted to it by the taxpayers.
Too high, other cities of this size in the U.S. and in similar climates are as low as 50% of this cost base, and many around 75%.
Read more questions:
Why are you running for mayor?
What’s the biggest challenge facing city government and how would you address it?
Describe how your administration would approach the coronavirus pandemic
Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why?
Is the Anchorage Police Department adequately staffed?
Describe, with specifics, how you would expand and diversify Anchorage’s economy.
What’s your vision for Anchorage’s economy in the future?
Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low?
Do you have ideas for alternative sources of city revenue? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would cut? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would expand? Explain.
What’s your view of current Anchorage land-use plans? Would you push for changes?
Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working
Are there specific transportation projects you would initiate in the municipality if elected?
What other important issue would you like to discuss?
Read more questions:
Why are you running for mayor?
What’s the biggest challenge facing city government and how would you address it?
Describe how your administration would approach the coronavirus pandemic
Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why?
Is the Anchorage Police Department adequately staffed?
Describe, with specifics, how you would expand and diversify Anchorage’s economy.
What’s your vision for Anchorage’s economy in the future?
Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low?
Do you have ideas for alternative sources of city revenue? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would cut? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would expand? Explain.
What’s your view of current Anchorage land-use plans? Would you push for changes?
Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working
Are there specific transportation projects you would initiate in the municipality if elected?