Last night, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted to overturn six of the seven line-item vetoes issued on the fiscal year 2016 budget. Mayor Larry DeVilbiss submitted the veto document earlier in the day, and it was released to the public shortly before the meeting.
Five vetoes were overridden without objection. Those include funding for Youth Court, the borough’s sexual assault response team, the revolving loan payback plan for the Willow fire service area, and grants to municipalities.
One veto override passed with objection. That veto was for $25,000 to be given to the Big Lake Lions Community Center. Assembly members Beck and Doty opposed the override.
The only veto that was sustained was the mayor’s striking of $150,000 for the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program to purchase land for a shooting range. The grant was placed into the budget through an amendment by Assembly Member Vern Halter. He saw the grant to buy private land as an alternative to selling the group borough land at a ninety percent discount. Four of the seven assembly members voted in favor of the override, but five votes are needed.
In the veto document and during Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor DeVilbiss repeatedly said that the vetoes were not due to a lack of merit within the programs, but rather that the lack of a grant process could leave an “open door” to groups wanting funding in the future.
Mayor DeVilbiss also urged the assembly to reconsider the 2.75 mill rate for the Willow Fire Service Area. That would have required reconsideration of the overall borough budget. That item was on the agenda, but was not taken up.
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly will meet again on June 2nd.
