Assembly OK’s fiscal note measure

  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Monday, April 13, 2015 10:42pm
  • News

The Kenai Peninsula Borough has adopted a permanent policy aimed at making the legislative process more transparent.

Ordinances and resolutions up for adoption will require a fiscal note describing the financial impact the legislation will have on the borough. It will be the responsibility of the sponsor to work with the financial department to develop the note.

Assembly member Wayne Ogle introduced the measure, which was approved by the assembly at its April 7 meeting.

Members Mako Haggerty and Brent Johnson said they thought the policy would be unnecessary and redundant.

“It’s not about us,” Ogle said. “It’s about people being informed.”

Having requirements for fiscal notes codified facilitates transparency in government, Ogle said. Not only does it help the assembly members make more informed decisions, but the public will have access to more details, he said.

A fiscal note is the best estimate from the financial department as to what the true cost will be for an ordinance, Ogle said.

Providing the estimate of an ordinance can shape public opinion, Ogle said. A fiscal note was “instrumental in helping people decide how they were going to vote on the vote-by-mail,” advisory vote put before borough residents on the 2014 ballot, he said.

It was shown that the overall expense of elections would go up for the borough, when it was originally believed vote-by-mail only would be more cost effective, Ogle said.

Anything exceeding more than $5,000 in one fiscal year will require a note. The documentation must also show the impact over the next two years following the year after adoption, according to the policy.

The new policy was preceded by a resolution adopted in May of 2013, according to the resolution. The original policy was set for a one-year “trial basis,” and expired on June 30, 2014.

Prior to the trial policy, the borough did not have a process that showed the financial consequence of the legislation up for consideration, according to the original resolution.

Ogle said he was under the impression the assembly had forgotten the original policy had a sunset clause and that it had lapsed.

Borough Mayor Mike Navarre said the borough’s financial process is already quite transparent, and further developing that will not be an issue.

“It won’t be a burden for us,” Navarre said “We will do it.”

 

Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Girl Scout Troop 210, which includes Caitlyn Eskelin, Emma Hindman, Kadie Newkirk and Lyberty Stockman, present their “Bucket Trees” to a panel of judges in the 34th Annual Caring for the Kenai Competition at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Bucket trees take top award at 34th Caring for the Kenai

A solution to help campers safely and successfully extinguish their fires won… Continue reading

Children work together to land a rainbow trout at the Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec & Trade Show on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sport show returns next weekend

The 37th Annual Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec & Trade Show will be… Continue reading

Alaska Press Club awards won by Ashlyn O’Hara, Jeff Helminiak and Jake Dye are splayed on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion’s newsroom in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Clarion writers win 9 awards at Alaska Press Club conference

The Clarion swept the club’s best arts and culture criticism category for the 2nd year in a row

Exit Glacier, as seen in August 2015 from the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park just outside of Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
6 rescued after being stranded in Harding Ice Field

A group of six adult skiers were rescued after spending a full… Continue reading

City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and City Manager Terry Eubank present “State of the City” at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Mayor, city manager share vision at Kenai’s ‘State of the City’

At the Sixth Annual State of the City, delivered by City of… Continue reading

LaDawn Druce asks Sen. Jesse Bjorkman a question during a town hall event on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
District unions call for ‘walk-in’ school funding protest

The unions have issued invitations to city councils, the borough assembly, the Board of Education and others

tease
House District 6 race gets 3rd candidate

Alana Greear filed a letter of intent to run on April 5

Kenai City Hall is seen on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai water treatment plant project moves forward

The city will contract with Anchorage-based HDL Engineering Consultants for design and engineering of a new water treatment plant pumphouse

Students of Soldotna High School stage a walkout in protest of the veto of Senate Bill 140 in front of their school in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
SoHi students walk out for school funding

The protest was in response to the veto of an education bill that would have increased school funding

Most Read