OPINION: Give us your ideas to make Anchorage a better place to live

Has been updated: 36 seconds ago release date: 36 seconds ago

Now is the time to invest in making Anchorage the place we want it to be. Last summer, Anchorage residents and members of the business community formed a working group to develop a 3% sales tax proposal aimed at reducing property taxes, capturing tourist spending, and building resident-led infrastructure projects that will improve the quality of life in our city.

This summer, we are inviting all Anchorage residents to tell us what projects they would like to see us create together. From Eagle River to Girdwood and everywhere in between, this summer and early fall, we invite you to visit our site at www.ProjectAnchorage.com to learn more about Project Anchorage and to submit your project ideas that will make Anchorage a better place to live, work and play.

Here’s our proposal: Impose a one-time annual 3% sales tax to provide property tax relief and fund the construction of select resident-proposed and voter-approved infrastructure projects without borrowing or bonds. To achieve this, we recommend that two-thirds of sales tax revenues be dedicated to property tax relief, reducing the average homeowner’s annual property tax bill by approximately 20%. The remaining one-third would be set aside in savings until we have enough funding to complete each of the voter-directed quality-of-life investments, project by project.

A common argument against a sales tax is that it is regressive and may burden some households more than others. That’s why our proposal exempts the necessities of life. A wide range of items would be exempt, including rent, child care, most groceries, gasoline, and medical expenses. In fact, a big advantage of this proposal is that over 21% of Project Anchorage’s revenue would come from people who don’t live in Anchorage – visitors and commuters.

We know Anchorage can do better when it comes to attracting and retaining the best workforce, making homeownership more affordable, and building a place our children and grandchildren want to live and grow in. In addition to a housing shortage, Anchorage faces a major problem with home affordability. One way to make homeownership more accessible is to reduce the property tax burden faced by homebuyers. We see a great opportunity to combine this relief with a once-in-a-generation investment for all Anchorage residents and visitors.

We know you have lots of questions, but we want this to be a community conversation space to do better as a community and reinvent ourselves as a destination to live, work and play. To learn more and share your project ideas, please visit our website at www.ProjectAnchorage.com. By the time the snow falls, we hope to share a strong proposal with resident input with policymakers so we can all vote on it next spring.

This commentary was co-authored by members of the coalition supporting Project Anchorage. Julie Thorpe (Visiting Anchorage) Joe Gellione (North Rim Bank) Ryan Strong (Eagle River resident) Kathleen McArdle (Anchorage Chamber of Commerce) Layla Fairbairn (Locally produced restaurant) Jenna Wright (Anchorage Economic Development Authority) Jacob Lyon (Member of the Anchorage Visiting Committee), Brendan Shifley (Chuggiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce) Walter Featherly (Calista Corporation) Mike Robbins (Anchorage Community Development Association) Radhika Krishna (Anchorage Downtown Partnership) Michelle Crowder (RIM Architects) Ethan Tyler (Girdwood resident) Dave Cavitt (Saddlers Home Furnishings) Carol Gore (Anchorage Economic Development Corporation).

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