The North Tongass Fire and EMS building. Fees for firefighting and medical help in its service area may change. (KRBD file photo)
More property owners in the north part of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough would pay for fire and emergency medical services under a plan before the Borough Assembly.
Details are spelled out in an ordinance to be introduced at Monday’s Assembly meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
The ordinance would affect property owners in the North Tongass Fire and EMS Service Area, which is north of Ketchikan city limits. Information provided by the borough manager’s office says about 1,800 properties are in the affected area. Some are exempt from taxation.
Current rules require the area’s homeowners to pay $100 a year. But more than a third of all fire calls in the area in 2015 were to properties without homes or other significant structures.
The ordinance would extend that fee to all property owners. That would increase the service area’s annual revenue by about $41,000.
The North Tongass Service Area Board recommended the change.
The board also called for a reduction in the area’s property taxes, which would make the expense to property owners smaller. But that change will require separate action.
The Borough Assembly will also consider a resolution asking the governor and Legislature to exempt the Ketchikan Shipyard from property taxes. It would do that by adding such facilities owned by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to the list of exempted properties.
The authority-owned Delong Mountain Transportation Facility in northwest Alaska is already exempted. It’s used by the Red Dog zinc mine.
The Ketchikan Shipyard is operated by Vigor Alaska, part of a larger company. The property tax issue was discussed at an earlier meeting.
The Assembly meeting will also include a closed-door executive session to discuss negotiations with four unions with contracts that run out at the end of March.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday in Assembly chambers. Public comment will be allowed at the start of the meeting. Read the full agenda here.
