Petersburg residents will vote on four ballot propositions this October, after the Borough Assembly unanimously approved two more at a meeting on August 5.
First on the list of ballot propositions is the decision whether to spend $3.5 million to fund upgrades to Petersburg’s middle and high school. The money would cover a new roof and security upgrades.
The state will pay for roughly two-thirds of the roof project. The school district hopes to fund the remaining $1,495,514 through a bond – meaning residents would pay for it through property taxes over the next couple of decades.
The proposed bond also includes money to upgrade security doors that automatically lock, and redesign office layout so that staff see people approaching the front doors.
In another proposition, voters will decide how much sales tax the borough can collect in a single transaction. Sales tax currently caps out at $72 on a $1200 purchase. But it could be raised to $300, collected from a $5,000 purchase. Anything over five grand would still get taxed at $300. Officials say money from the increase would support borough services, including the Petersburg School District.
An increase to the Borough’s transient room tax, from four percent to seven percent, is also on the ballot. Petersburg hotels, motels, lodges, and Airbnbs pay the bed tax on rooms that are rented for fewer than 30 days.
The borough estimates the increase would bring in more than $53,000 annually. Those extra funds would go to tourism-related services around town, such as informational signs, park maintenance, and beautification projects.
And finally, voters will decide whether to fund upgrades to the borough’s wastewater and water infrastructure to the tune of almost $20 million dollars. The department plans to change its wastewater system because of new state and federal regulations. It also plans to upgrade water and sewer mains around town.
The money for the improvements would come from a low-interest loan from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Water and wastewater customers would repay the loan over the next 20 years through their monthly utility bills. Utility Director Karl Hagerman said it’s possible the loan will increase rates. He hopes to have information about potential increases for voters before the election.
A fifth ballot proposition won’t be going to the voters this fall. It would’ve made it possible for the Borough Assembly to change sales tax exemptions without a public vote. Borough officials said it would streamline the budget process since those public votes only happen once a year, in the October municipal elections. The proposition passed unanimously in its first two votes, but failed on a technicality in the final vote.
All registered voters in the Petersburg Borough will get to vote on the four ballot propositions. Petersburg’s municipal election is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1. The last day to register to vote in the election is Sunday, September 1.
