Anchorage

Eklutna Valley Community Council registers doubts about ‘Eaglexit’ proposal

One of the six community councils representing Chugiak-Eagle River says it wants little to do with a movement to detach the area from the Municipality of Anchorage.

At its Oct. 15 meeting, the Eklutna Valley Community Council voted 15-1 to dissociate itself from “Eaglexit,” a movement that began this spring to explore the possibility of forming a new government for Assembly District 2.

“We’re kind of raising a red flag and saying don’t count on us,” said Eklutna Valley vice president Rick Sinnott, who drafted the resolution.

The council is the first in the area northeast of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to take a position on the plan.

The council’s area is sparsely populated — Sinnott said there are likely more bears than people — and includes the Eklutna River valley east of the Glenn Highway. Although there are few homes, the council area does include Eklutna Lake, which supplies the municipality with most of its water and much of its electricity.

In its resolution, the council said it’s not convinced Eaglexit organizers can provide the same level of city services for lower taxes, and points to other parts of the state that already have higher taxes than Anchorage does. It also cites a 2007 study that found such a detachment would cause property taxes to rise for the same level of services, and points to relatively low rates for Chugiak-Eagle River residents relative to other Anchorage property tax payers.

Eaglexit backers argue they could create a more efficient form of local government that would be more responsive to local concerns. They argue the 11-member Anchorage Assembly is out of touch with Chugiak-Eagle River’s typically more conservative constituency and that the area is underrepresented in local politics.

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In its resolution, the Eklutna Valley council pointed out that the area -- which has between 30,000 and 50,000 people depending on which areas are included -- is home to 25% of Anchorage’s public high schools, has 18% of the seats on the Assembly and is in line to receive the bulk of municipal and state funding to repair earthquake-damaged schools.

And while the Anchorage Assembly in recent times has had a fair number of 9-2 votes against the area’s pair of representatives, Sinnott said political winds tend to change.

“We’re in a minority as far as the conservative/liberal mix in the city right now, but in the past there’s been more conservative assemblies too," he said.

Property taxes in Anchorage are levied on a schedule that includes 58 tax districts based on the level of services provided. Some people in Chugiak-Eagle River pay higher-than-average taxes; others pay less than average, with area levies ranging from a low of 12.11 mills near the Eagle River Nature Center (which has no fire service levy) to a high of 16.32 mills in some parts of Eagle River. The highest mill rate in the municipality is paid by residents of the Hillside’s Glen Alps fire service area, who are assessed 16.50 mills; the lowest is the 7.34 mills for Turnagain Arm-area property owners without police service.

“We’re not doing too bad on the mill rate side of things,” Sinnott said.

The Eklutna council resolution is generally skeptical of detachment backers’ claims, but Sinnott said the council left its “foot in the water” for Eaglexit “if they do come up with a plan where taxes don’t go up and we get the same services.”

Skeptics welcome

On Tuesday, Eaglexit chair Mike Tavoliero called the Eklutna resolution “premature” and took issue with some of its points -- including the assertion that detaching would be unconstitutional.

“In my opinion that is not necessarily correct,” he said, arguing that a 1970s Alaska Supreme Court ruling erred in its interpretation of state law.

Eklutna Valley council members took issue with the fact Eaglexit backers have not consulted them, but Tavoliero said that’s only because the process is still in its early stages.

“Everybody’s entitled to their thoughts, but we have really yet to start to sit down with the community councils, which is our intent,” he said.

Tavoliero said Eaglexit is in talks with Northern Economics -- which conducted he 2007 feasibility study showing detachment would cost local taxpayers money -- to conduct a new two-part study using new projections and figures. He said that study is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $40,000 to $50,000. So far the group has raised about $12,000, he said.

Tavoliero invited Eklutna Valley council members -- and anyone else with questions about the movement -- to a public meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Eagle River Lions Club.

“We need more skeptics,” he said.

Matt Tunseth

Matt Tunseth is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and former editor of the Alaska Star.

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