Homer weighs spending $6,000 to inform voters about a road-tax measure, near a line the law draws

Homer's city council will consider spending $6,000, plus staff time and equipment, on public information about a fall ballot measure asking voters to keep the sales tax that funds the city's roads and trails.

The spending brushes up against a line in state law. The ordinance's own title says the information may include material "that may influence the outcome of the election" — but Alaska law bars using public money to influence how people vote on a ballot measure, while allowing public funds to inform voters about a measure's effect on the government. Where "informing" ends and "influencing" begins is the tension the ordinance sits on. No opposing voice appears in the council's meeting materials.

The measure itself would renew the tax behind the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails program, which is funded by a dedicated sales tax of up to three-quarters of one percent, split 90 percent to roads and 10 percent to trails. Voters have approved the tax in 20-year stretches, and the current one expires at the end of 2027. When the council voted to put the renewal on the ballot, it found that continuing the tax serves the community's best interest.

The council is set to introduce the spending Monday, with a public hearing and second reading Sept. 14, where residents can weigh in. A similar $8,000 version for the same measure came before the council in June.