The Soldotna City Council on Wednesday defeated an ordinance that would have created a new residential property tax exemption for Soldotna homeowners.
The ordinance, sponsored by council members Jordan Chilson and Dave Carey, was first considered July 10, when it was postponed to this week pending questions about implementation.
At that public hearing, Chilson said the exemption would affect homes up to $50,000 in assessed value. He said it would cost the city around $15,000 in lost revenue, saving homeowners who qualify for the maximum amount of the exemption around $25.
Chilson said he brought the idea forward because he wants to align the values assessed by the city and the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The latter already offers a $50,000 exemption, which means homeowners are seeing two different assessed values.
Carey said the change is valuable because of the savings passed to residents without significantly impacting the city’s finances.
“Anything that we can do to save money for the people of Soldotna, we should.”
At the July 10 meeting, Chilson said that there wouldn’t be any administrative overhead to implement the exemption because it would be handled by the borough. It was questions around that claim that led to the ordinance’s postponement.
Vice Mayor Lisa Parker asked whether the borough had confirmed that they would administer the exemption, and Chilson said the council would have to trust that they would.
Member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings moved to postpone the ordinance.
At this week’s meeting of the council, Chilson said he had verified both that the borough would collect the exemption on Soldotna’s behalf and that there would be no added burden for city staff.
Despite those confirmations, other members of the council remained skeptical of the proposed exemption.
“I’m always concerned when we add another exemption to the code,” Hutchings said.
Taking the described $15,000 in lost revenue and $25 in individual savings from the text of the ordinance, Hutchings said simple division suggests that the exemption would affect only 600 homeowners — there are around 5,000 in the city. Further, she said, there are many more people living year-round in apartments who wouldn’t benefit, yet “we want them to stay in our city.”
Member Dan Nelson said he respected the ordinance’s intent but questioned whether it was the right move to make.
In a vote, Chilson, Carey and member Chera Wackler supported the ordinance. Nelson, Hutchings and Parker all voted against. Mayor Paul Whitney cast a seventh vote to break the tie and defeat the ordinance.
A full recording of both city council meetings is available on the “City of Soldotna” YouTube channel.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
