Downtown Anchorage owners face a $1.15 million yearly bill

The owners of 779 downtown Anchorage properties would owe a combined $1.15 million this year to keep downtown plowed, patrolled, promoted and pretty — the annual bill for the district that funds snow removal, security, tourism promotion and beautification.

How much any one owner pays turns on their property's value. The biggest bill, about $23,560, goes to 700 G Street LLC; Hickel Investment Co. and Columbia Properties each owe around $20,000 on downtown parcels. At the other end, dozens of condo owners are billed under $300. Because the rate is tied to assessed value, a bill climbs as a property's appraisal rises — even in a year the district's services don't change.

The security the assessments buy is private, not police. The district, which dates to 1997, mails the bills in the fall, and an owner who doesn't pay can eventually face a lien and foreclosure.

Owners who think their bill is wrong can object at a public hearing Sept. 15. The Assembly takes up the measure Tuesday.