Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Property owners in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough could face a tax increase this year despite a $40 million cut in borough spending over last year.

The 2009 borough budget, released Tuesday, totals $282.5 million, about $39 million less than the fiscal 2008 budget.

Property owners would pay 10.326 mills, or $1,032.60 per $100,000 of assessed property value in the coming year, compared to $933.20 per $100,000 for the current year.

Borough finance director Tammy Clayton said taxes are proposed to go up despite the smaller budget because new home construction has slowed and assessed property values were close to flat this year, up 2 percent instead of the leaps of 11 percent seen in previous years.

The average borough home, worth about $223,000 last year, is worth about $227,000 this year.

Taxes on such a home would total $2,344.

Property owners who live outside Palmer, Wasilla or Houston should plan for another .396 mills, or $90 for a $227,000 home, in non-areawide taxes for things like animal control and library services.

The Mat-Su Assembly has scheduled budget deliberations later this month after holding two public hearings on the yearly spending plan.

The trimmed-down budget includes requests for 15 new full-time employees.

Other positions requested would result in cuts to temporary employee and overtime budgets.

Six are in the solid waste budget, where administrators hope to use borough employees instead of contract employees and equipment to handle landfill operations.

Consulting firm Northern Economics recently completed a financial analysis of landfill operations that shows using new equipment and borough personnel may cut costs and lead to more efficient use of landfill space.

Most of the planned budget, or $187.5 million, pays for school operations. Another $39.9 million pays for borough operations.

Outstanding debt consumes $18.3 million and capital projects $15.3 million.

The remaining amount is split between fire service area operations ($5.2 million), road service area operations ($8.5 million), running the solid waste division and Port MacKenzie ($6.8 million) and $1 million for other service areas and emergency-911 costs.

Find Daily News reporter Rindi White online at www.adn.com/contact/rwhite or call 352-6709. IF YOU GO:

• Public hearings on the proposed budget are scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday and April 29 at Central Mat-Su Public Safety Building, 101 W. Swanson Ave., Wasilla.

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