Mat-Su

Mat-Su Assembly puts off decision on old-car registration waiver

WASILLA -- A proposal to give owners of older vehicles and trailers a break on registration fees could get an overhaul aimed at preserving money for road work and firefighting.

Assemblyman Jim Colver in July proposed that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough become the first municipality in Alaska to opt into a statewide program that waives biennial registration fees and taxes for owners of vehicles or trailers at least 8 years old. Originally sponsored by Chugiak Rep. Bill Stoltze, the program is based on a Montana law and will go into effect Jan. 1.

Colver this week put forth an amendment suggesting a new way to allocate what are expected to be sharply reduced registration revenues, though the overall impact on the borough budget is expected to remain the same.

Rather than decide on the complicated changes during a meeting Tuesday night, however, Colver's fellow Assembly members tabled a decision until Nov. 19. But it's still possible the Assembly could reconsider the postponement at a Sept. 16 meeting and take action on the proposal that night.

Some 60 to 65 percent of the vehicles in borough are 8 years or older, officials say.

Fewer old-car owners paying what adds up to $170 to the state and borough every two years is expected to cut into funding streams of both. Registration money paid to the state goes into the general fund.

On the borough level, finance staff predicted that by 2017, participation in the "permanent registration" program could cut more than $2.4 million from road- and fire-service area budgets, as well as more general city and borough budgets.

ADVERTISEMENT

Road-service area supervisors, city leaders and borough emergency officials quickly expressed concern when the original Mat-Su permanent registration proposal surfaced.

Colver, who is running for state House, was criticized for using the vehicle registration proposal as a campaign booster. But this week he said he supported the idea when it came before the Assembly, before he was running for office.

His amendment suggests, among other things, using revenue from registration to create a capital reserve for road paving projects linked to a dust-control program while cutting more money from city and borough general funds.

Colver reminded the Assembly that he led the charge to increase money flowing to road-service areas in 2013 and again this year from $3 per capita to $8 and then $11.

"This amendment, it just rolls RSAs back to the $8 that we increased it to in 2013," he said Tuesday night.

Colver says the changes he wants to make would move the revenue loss to the borough's more generally spent areawide and non-areawide funds that go toward everything from daily operations to planning department costs.

"It's coming off vehicles, the money that's taxed. How do we get it into roads?" he said Wednesday. "I don't think it was ever intended as a catch-all cash cow to fund the general fund."

If adopted by the Assembly, permanent vehicle registration wouldn't start cutting into borough budgets until 2016, and then not at full levels until the next year.

Colver's fellow Assembly members seemed overwhelmed by the changes, laid out in a four-page spreadsheet accompanied by two memos, all of it apparently circulated hours before.

"While I think this may be a good idea, I don't understand it," said Jim Sykes, who represents an area from Lake Louise to South Knik River. "I just literally got the chance to look at it today."

"I've heard enough concerns about the overall proposal that I'd really like to be able to hear what the RSAs have to say in regard to the amendments now they're in place," said Matthew Beck, who represents Palmer.

"This is a fairly complicated issue," said Ron Arvin, who represents an area near Wasilla. "I think I got it, Jim, but I'm not sure reshuffling the deck to protect RSAs while abandoning revenue that goes to the areawide is proper."

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

ADVERTISEMENT