Mid
Meeting Minutes 16 October 2003
John Weddleton, President, convened meeting at 7:12 pm.
Attendees included 8 from MidHillside Community Council (MHCC), 1 from Hillside East Community Council (HECC), and approximately 12 others.
Meeting minutes for September approved
$75K of last year’s $108K budget was for mailings. At this time, next year’s budget is only $26K, which makes continued mailings of 1400 newsletters to MHCC & HECC impossible. A note will go in the next newsletter encourage folks to switch to electronic delivery and letting everyone know that if they do not respond, the November notice will be their last.
A key budget change is making permitting self-supporting, which will substantially increase some permits.
Janice Schamberg reported on tax and budget considerations. Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), at the University of Alaska Anchorage, research on tax structures looked at taxes in the largest city in each state and found that Anchorage ranked 49th. (researchmatters@uaa.alaska.edu) On the fire hydrant maintenance issue, nationally this is reported at $0 to $200K/yr, far less than Anchorage’s $2.8M.
Linda Shafer and Marty Meyer (269-7450) discussed the governor’s website, the senior’s assistance program. The budget is due Dec. 15. Concentrating on resource development.
Legislature Report
State Senator Con Bunde:
The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has prepared information about the state's fiscal gap, budget, and alternatives to solve the looming budget crisis. They have prepared information at three related websites so that the public can become better informed.
Why Economic Development Doesn't Pay -- Except
for oil, no industry in Alaska pays its own way. A new natural resource
job, for instance, costs the state $1,100. Why? Because
economic development requires new public services -- and under Alaska's current
tax structure, households, and businesses generally don't pay enough taxes to
cover the costs of those services. See:
http://citizensguide.uaa.alaska.edu/11.BUDGET_FAQs/11.1_AK_Disconnect_FAQ.htm.
Job Losses from Closing the Fiscal Gap --
Closing the state fiscal gap will cost Alaska jobs, because it will take money
out of the economy. But using budget cuts alone would cost Alaska the
most jobs- 18,500 -- while an income tax would cost the fewest, about
7,500. A sales tax or a PF dividend cut would eliminate about 9,300
jobs. See:
http://citizensguide.uaa.alaska.edu/11.BUDGET_FAQs/11.2_Fiscal_Gap_FAQ.htm.
The Alaska Citizen's Guide to the Budget --
This Web site offers a wealth of information on these and many other topics of
interest to Alaskans concerned about the state budget. See:
http://citizensguide.uaa.alaska.edu.
If you have questions about ISER's information, please get in touch with ISER directly at ResearchMatters@uaa.alaska.edu or call 907-786-7710.
No one is in the middle on gambling
DeArmoun Road is a hot issue.
Bob is for resource development of all types; focused on jobs.
Attended the committee POMV - Percent of Market Value management of Permanent Fund payouts. Target growth is 8% so the proposal would reserve 3% for inflation and 5% for distribution, half to PFD checks and half to government operation. This will take a 2/3 vote of the legislature, a vote of the people, and a constitutional change and may be a hard sell.
Anchorage Police Department
Sgt. Michelle Bucher, the area police representative provided South Area (everything south of Tudor and east of Minnesota) for the past 5 years. Coverage is 5 officers at any one time. Working hard on Hillside vandalism, e.g. Hilltop Ski Area.
Anchorage Fire Department
Paul Bezilla and Tony Wiles of the Anchorage Fire Department discussed their operations. 30% of their 35,000 runs/yr runs are for actual fires. Remainder include HAZMAT, search, etc. All personnel are EMTs or better. The proposed 70 person cut would be the 48 new slots planned to bring them back up to normal levels plus 22 existing persons. Nationally, fire departments have 1.5/1000 pop. Anchorage was at 0.75 and the 48 new slots were to get closer to the national average. The cuts will put us back where we were, or worse.
The cuts will eliminate 25% of the first responder rigs, including 1 paramedic and one water tanker off the Hillside. This may affect the ISO rating that insurance companies use when setting coverage. The total cut to AFD is $5.8M, so the proposal on hydrant fees will only make up part of it.
The proposed MHCC Bylaws were approved unanimously, with two minor amendments. Copies may be found on the website.
The following persons were unanimously elected to the MHCC Board to join John Weddleton and Tom O’Grady:
Amy Johnson
Linda Perkins
James Perkins
Brian Johnson
Shirley McGrath
This is a hot issue for many of the meeting attendees. 62 or more lots are affected by the realignment proposed for DeArmoun Road. The design was driven by the reported accident rate, particularly in the area of the S-curve. There was no EIS, but there was an environmental study. The proposals place the gravel trail on the north side, even though the profile would favor the south side. The affected community councils will work on a joint resolution for the November 20 public meeting. Suggestions and areas of concern include keeping the current alignment, lowering the speed limit, reexamining the rural/urban classification, and the trail parameters.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm.