News from Patrick Flynn

Having recently enjoyed a chuckle in reviewing Paul Jenkins’ most recent nonsensical rant I thought it might be useful to provide a little perspective on the object of his ire: Anchorage’s tax cap.

Unlike most, I actually know this subject thoroughly and, periodically, have explained it in detail on this blog (just type “tax cap” into the search window and you’ll find various articles). I know; I lead a sad existence.

Jenkins, as usual, presumes any action taken by the Assembly increases government, taxes, communicable diseases, UFO sightings and whatever other perceived negatives he can hurl at his perceived enemies.

So here’s the stark reality that Mr. Jenkins fails to explain; Anchorage’s tax cap is part of our city’s charter and the Assembly, liberal or conservative, can’t change it.

What we can do, and what we did do during the Sullivan administration, is refinance debt to extend the payoff term to reduce near-term property taxes, though we ultimately pay those dollars (so, higher taxes later). For some reason, Mr. Jenkins didn’t howl at that?

Another thing we have done, and may do again, is use state revenue sharing for property tax relief following the annual assessment. That means you still pay the same amount of taxes but, should the legislature decide to cut those funds the following year, the Assembly has the delightful responsibility of figuring out how to balance reductions in services and tax increases. If that sounds like fun feel free to sign up.

Jenkins, as per usual, calls this a tax increase. It’s not. Instead it’s your local elected officials trying to balance community needs and responsible fiscal management. Not terribly intriguing, but it’s what we do.

And, by the by, at least one of those denigrating this recent code change is charging hard to spend your tax dollars elsewhere. Feel free to ask them how they’ll pay for it.

Regards,

Patrick