Assembly takes two nights of public testimony on Budget

Two nights of public hearings for the Mat-Su Borough’s Proposed Annual Budget for 2013 on Wednesday and Thursday night in Wasilla. The Borough Assembly will take public comment on the allocations of the $393.5 million dollars which will be spent on schools, fire and road service areas, borough operations, and capital projects across the borough.

Borough Manager John Moosey submitted the 576-page document to the assembly last week, and says that while the mill rate increased slightly due to voter-approved school bonds, the proposed 10-point-three-eight-one mill rate reflects an attempt to expand borough services without creating additional burden on taxpayers.

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School funding makes up 75-percent of the budget, and includes three-percent increase in funding that the school board requested. Other highlights of the budget include 13 million for Port Mackenzie the project and related resource development, as well at 15 million for capital projects around the borough. Manager Moosey says his proposed budget aims to meet with the priorities identified by the assembly for enhancing the borough’s financial prospects.

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Moosey added that the budget is now in the hands of the Assembly, where items may be added and withdrawn, and though he would be surprised if it came through in its exact form, he feels he delivered a budget that met all requirements as closely as possible.