Mat-Su Assembly rejects lowering its property tax cap to 7 mills

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly has decided against tying its own hands on property taxes, rejecting an ordinance Aug. 18 that would have lowered the borough's tax cap from 9.5 mills to 7. The cap stays where it is.

The measure came from Assembly member Michael Bowles, who argued that rising property assessments keep lifting the borough's revenue even when the tax rate holds steady — and that a lower cap would shield residents from big tax increases down the road. The current areawide rate for fiscal 2027 is 7.955 mills, well under the existing cap, and schools account for 71% of it.

The borough administration warned the lower cap would force roughly $22 million in cuts in a single year. Its own tally: $11 million from schools, the end of animal care, water rescue and community cleanup programs, one fewer ambulance and crew, and seven jobs cut — and even all of that would have left about $5 million still to find.

The vote was a back-and-forth. Amendments to set the cap at 9 mills and at 7.5 both failed. The ordinance itself first passed, then failed on reconsideration, with Bowles and Ron Bernier left in support. Mayor Edna DeVries came down against the idea of a cap as a budgeting tool. "I think the way to do it is to actually make the cuts, not just set an artificial cap," she said.