Mayor DeVilbiss asserts fiscal conservative budget approach

New Mat-Su borough mayor Larry DeVilbiss presided over his first assembly meeting last week and announced that he is serious about reducing the borough’s budget. He said that he would use his veto power in the budget process to ensure that the tax impact on the 2012 budget is going to reflect a ten percent reduction.In other borough news, the assembly postponed action on commenting on the proposed military training operations expansion, known as the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex. DeVilbiss said that the impact would be greatest on the Talkeetna Mountains and the Lake Louise area and that the Mat-Su borough has the densest concentration of airfields in the nation. The assembly decided to hold off with comments to the military until they have received expert opinions and more input from the area’s pilots on the topic.

DeVilbiss  also thanked Governor Sean Parnell for adding $20 million in the governor’s budget for the Port MacKenzie Rail extension and for the governor’s support of the Susitna Large Hydro project.