Mayor Sullivan vetoes Assembly vote on debt payoff

Published: November 20th, 2009 07:01 PM
Last Modified: November 21st, 2009 07:16 PM

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan on Friday vetoed an Assembly action from Tuesday that he says would hurt his efforts to ease his difficulty of balancing the city budget in a time of tight revenue. The issue centered on $12 million in city debt due next year and $10 million due the following year. Sullivan's budget for 2010 proposes to take on new debt to make those payments. The new debt would carry a much smaller payment-due in 2010 and 2011 than the $22 million currently due, although the full amount would have to be paid eventually.

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"While this restructuring alternative has a cost, this alternative has been compared to other alternatives available to the municipality to meet its current revenue position," Sullivan said in his veto message to the Assembly. "I believe that this restructuring alternative is consistent with the desires of the voters."

The Assembly action on a 6-5 vote would have blocked Sullivan from handling the debt this way. Those who opposed Sullivan's idea likened it to using one credit card to pay the debt owed on another, saying it would just delay and ultimately increase what the city must pay off.

The Assembly would need eight votes to override Sullivan's veto.

-- Anchorage Daily News/adn.com