What Has ITA Accomplished Since 1987?

In the fourteen years since ITA was organized to benefit the taxpayers in the interior of Alaska,we have done the following:

• Defeated, via a referendum petition drive, a sales tax in the City of Fairbanks.
• When the Fairbanks City government ignored the people’s vote and continued to pass sales tax ordinances (sometimes three in one year), we continued to give city residents the right to vote (a total of seven times!), and each time sales taxes were defeated.
• Instituted, by initiative, a City Tax Cap (actually a revenue cap) in the city charter where only a vote of the people can remove it.
• Rolled back property taxes in the city of Fairbanks from 7 mils to 2.8 mils, then continued to seek economies of government to lower the city budget, and hence city property taxes.
• Tightened the City Tax Cap to clarify that the cap is a cap on all revenues so that if a sales tax is instituted without a vote, some other source of revenue, such as property taxes, must be lowered.
• Also fought sales taxes in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. When the Borough initiated a sales tax, ITA sponsored a referendum so Borough residents could vote on it. Sales tax was defeated in the Borough.
• Successfully petitioned for a Borough "Tax Cap". This is helping control property taxes since, like the city, the Borough must lower the mil rate (hence property taxes) if revenues from other sources increase.
• Continues to monitor borough government to find ways to reduce the budget. 
• Every two years ITA leads the initiative drive to renew the Borough Tax Cap (which is not protected in a charter, as is the City Tax Cap). The Tax Cap will next be up for renewal in the October, 2002 election.
• We made some technical changes to the Borough revenue cap in 1996, which resulted in a tighter, better cap, much less prone to misinterpretation. According to our attorney, changes included "provisions to insure that as bonds are paid off, the cap will fall, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, net of state debt service reimbursement."
• In 1997, led the drive to “lock in” Term Limits when the Assembly threatened to lift them without a vote of the people. We also were successful in our support of a repeal of the Fairbanks Port Authority, which would have cost taxpayers much.
• ITA has invested thousands of volunteer hours over the last 14 years to save you money, while paying only one very nominal salary (for a treasurer), with all the benefits and savings over the years going to borough residents, rather than to friends, relatives, or special interest groups. In 2001, ITA led the fight to defeat Consolidation. Click for more information about how it could have affected you, and why we urged a NO vote!
• Finally, in 2008, ITA is attempting to tighten the borough tax cap by removing one of the exceptions. For more on this, see our blog.
• We sponsor a yearly Candidate's Forum open to the public to help citizens meet and choose candidates for whom to vote; the first forum offered in Fairbanks where the general public were encouraged to ask their own questions rather than listen to prepared answers to canned questions from special interest groups. Our own members vote on endorsements after the Forum and they tend to choose candidates whom they believe will be fiscally responsible with their tax money. We advertise our endorsements (and information on ballot propositions) for those who cannot attend.

• ITA publishes a newsletter to let interested subscribers (members or not) know what is going on in the city and borough that might affect their taxes. Membership is $25, and the newsletter $10 per year is now free as an email. If you are a voter who still believes government should serve the citizen/taxpayer and not the other way around, please join us now. Membership dues and donations are what enable us to continue to fight for you. You CAN help! You can print out our form and send your application, subscription, or donation to the address given on that page. Or use the donate button ($25 or more) on our home page.

For more detailed information on most of the items covered in this topic, please go to History Page.

Last Update: Friday, October 03, 2008

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