This November, Mat-Su Borough residents may have the opportunity to vote on two important ballot measures. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly is considering placing two ordinances on the ballot that would substantially change how business is conducted in the Borough.
The first proposed ordinance is to change the Borough from a Manager-Managed Borough to a Mayor-Managed Borough. The key difference between the two methods is that a Manager is hired from a competitive pool of professionals, while a Mayor is an elected official.
There are pros and cons to each form of governance. With an elected official, voters can easily vote an unpopular manager out of office. However, this can also result in frequent disruption and higher staff turnover. A hired manager tends to have more experience and expertise than an elected official, but not always. In the current system, the Borough Manager reports to the Assembly for oversight.
The other proposed ordinance is to change the Borough from a second class Borough to a first class Borough. Becoming a first class Borough would increase some of the powers of the Borough. Whether to engage those powers would rest with the Assembly and not with local voters.
A public hearing to discuss whether these proposed changes will appear on the ballot in November will be held on July 14th. There will be opportunities to call in and express opinions on whether either of these potential ballot measures should appear on the ballot this year. Some residents feel that with an ongoing pandemic and confusion regarding mail-in ballots, this is the wrong time to address such large local restructuring. Others feel that the changes could possibly be constructive and that voter turn-out may be higher this year the national election is in November.
