Mat-Su property tax bills to rise under newly approved budget despite lowered mill rates

By Amy Bushatz on May 14, 2025

Mat-Su property tax bills will increase by an average of $66 this year under an annual spending plan approved by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly this week.

The $484.4 million budget funds Matanuska-Susitna Borough operations for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year, which starts on July 1.

The approved budget sets an areawide tax rate of 8.485 mills, or about $849 per $100,000 of assessed property value, according to the measure.

The new non-areawide tax rate is 0.371 mills, or about $37 per $100,000 of assessed property value, according to the measure. That additional property tax is paid by Mat-Su residents who live outside the Wasilla, Palmer and Houston city limits.

Annual tax bills are scheduled to be mailed July 1.

The borough assembly unanimously approved the budget during a special meeting on Tuesday.

The newly approved mill rate is lower than last year’s areawide rate of 8.748 mills, or $874.80 per $100,000 of assessed value. However, the decrease does not translate into lower tax bills because of an offset triggered by year-over-year increases in property values, officials said.

The average assessed value of a single-family home in the borough for 2025 is $388,091 – a 5% bump over last year.

The budget funds borough road maintenance, emergency services, parks and recreation, and the landfill, among other services. 

The spending plan includes voter-approved funding for road and school construction and about $2.5 million for school building maintenance. It also includes about $78 million for Mat-Su Borough School District operations, a 4% boost over what the borough is required to provide under state law. 

The budget also carries funding for a series of new projects and community updates.

Those include $750,000 for public bus service; about $593,000 for new borough operations at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center; $75,000 to renew a popular free junk car hauling program; $75,000 to renew a free firearms training program; and $48,000 for a new walking trail near the Willow Community Center.

The Assembly hosted seven special meetings on the new budget, starting in early April. Those included an initial budget presentation, three focused on amendments and debate and public listening sessions held at locations across the region.

The newly approved budget includes a lower mill rate and corresponding tax increase than borough officials originally proposed in March. Most of those savings came from two accounting-related changes approved by the assembly.

Rather than using newly collected property taxes to cover the purchase of the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center, the assembly opted to pull the $530,000 from a preexisting land management fund.

The Assembly also voted to reduce the annual funding slated for a budget reserve account, which can be tapped to cover unanticipated costs or new priorities throughout the year. Officials typically target about $500,000 as an initial balance for the account. The Assembly voted to reduce it to $250,000 for fiscal 2026.

— Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

Republished with permission from the Mat-Su Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source. 

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