In this legislative session, the state provided the borough with a little over $4 million, and the school district with almost $5 million, together the equivalent of roughly 2 mills in property tax.
What might the budget have looked like without that money? As one of nine votes, I can’t tell you for sure, but here are a few likely scenarios. To the parents, kids and teachers who came asking the borough to fund education to the cap, we would have said “I’m sorry, but we can’t.” To the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, the Kenai Peninsula Tourism and Marketing Council, Small Business Development Center and CARTS, we would have had to tell them “We couldn’t fund education, and even though your organizations bring business and money to the peninsula, you’re on your own.” To the 11 senior programs relying on the borough to fund some of their programs: “We regret to inform you that, at slightly under a half million dollars, we can’t help you this year.”
The borough cut the budget by almost $1.5 million from the previous year, and with that and the state’s help, we were able to not have to draw down the fund reserve below levels generally recognized as fiscally prudent. Had the state not recognized their obligation to the borough and school district, we would have cut additional programs and dipped to perilous levels in the fund reserve.
We don’t know what the state will do, or be able to do in the upcoming session. We do know that the borough’s constitutionally mandated PERS contribution will increase even more than we were told that it would last year, and that, as in the past, we will be asked to fund education and other programs our citizens desire. The question could become one of pitting the above mentioned groups against each other, eliminating programs not required by law, taking the fund reserve to new lows, increasing property taxes, eliminating property and sales tax exemptions not required by law or all the above.
Ron Long of Seward is the president of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. He represents District 6, the East Peninsula.
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