Loading...
2020-11-30 Regular MeetingKODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH Consolidation Committee November 30, 2020 A Consolidation Committee meeting of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly was held on November 30, 2020, via Zoom Meeting in the Kodiak Island Borough Building, 710 Mill Bay Road. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Griffin, Kornelis, Thran, Thomas, VanDyke, Whiddon, alt Branson, alt Turner, ex- officio Bahnke Absent: Culbertson, Kavanaugh, Kewan, alt Delgado, ex-officio Powers PUBLIC COMMENTS (Limited to Three Minutes per Speaker) Telephone and/or Video Participation Info There was no public comment AGENDA ITEMS Minutes of the November 2, 2020 Meeting Approved by unanimous consent Old Business: Are there any other previously discussed items to revisit? None Old Business: Assembly Composition and Representation Motion to change the Committee's recommendation for Assembly composition to at - large rather than by district by Thomas, second by Griffin Discussion: Mr. Thomas stated that he believes that districting complicates the issue. -Mr. Griffin presented information about local social and cultural demographics in Kodiak and voting tendencies. -Ms. Bahnke noted that representation means one person = one vote and that there is a difference in participation vs representation. Further discussion included the suggestion that minority populations be encouraged to run for an Assembly seat. -Mr. Whiddon made a motion to postpone the questions of Assembly composition, seconded by Mr. Kornelis. Motion carried 6 to 1 Ongoing Business: Corrected Local Tax Levy Revenues Total property tax revenue for the KIB remain incorrect due to the way the revenue is allocated to various funds — general fund, education contribution, and debt service. New Business: Estimated Taxable Values Discussion included an overview of how KIB defines areas for tax collection to include taxes for service districts and a table listing ten years of assessed values and tax revenues. Committee members talked about observations of the numbers. Kodiak Island Borough Consolidation Committee Minutes November 30, 2020 Page 1 of 2 Mr. Whiddon added that services will be reduced if taxes are reduced and there would be a need to determine which services are of least priority to residents. Mr. VanDyke requested that assessed values be provided for each tax code area. MEMBERS CLOSING COMMENTS -Mr. Kornelis expressed appreciation of the discussion and particularly the demographic information. -Mr. Whiddon inquired about method for items to be placed on the agenda -Mr. Griffin thanked the committee for the discussion on demographics. Referring to comments about reducing services, asked that we look at who would be affected by those changes because consolidation should not add problems to those with a minority voice. -Ms. Branson agreed with Mr. Griffin; asked about the reason for recent meeting cancellations and requested that the committee be informed of the reason if future meetings are cancelled. -Mr. Thran express appreciation for the demographic information presented; asked if the City Council still intends to rotate membership on this committee, the response was that it is undecided. -Mr. Thomas recognize the difficult situation regarding property taxes whether consolidating or not; noted that local population is decreasing yet costs such as insurance, unfunded mandates are increasing, and state shared revenue is decreasing. -Ms. Bahnke reminded the committee that elections reflect the will of the people, that representation mean that one person = one vote and does not see how the representation discussion was relevant to that fact. -Mr. VanDyk expressed appreciation of the information and perspective brought by committee members. SET NEXT MEETING DATE AND TIME December 14, 2020 at 6:30 pm (there is a schedule conflict for use of Borough resources on 12/7) ADJOURNMENT 8:01 pm KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH Approved on: Kodiak Island Borough Consolidation Committee Minutes November 30, 2020 Page 2 of 2