Propositions in a nutshell

When voters go to the polls Oct. 3, they will be asked to do far more than select members for the Kenai and Soldotna city councils, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, the school board and an assortment of service area board seats. They will be asked to help shape the future of the city and the borough through a variety of propositions that will be on the ballot.

There will be two borough propositions:

· Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1, school capital improvement bonds.

Among the projects the bonds would help pay for are roofing at McNeil Canyon Elementary School and Nikolaevsk School. Areawide arsenic remediation and windows at Soldotna Elementary School also are listed. The bonds will be paid from property taxes, but the state would reimburse the borough approximately 70 percent of the bonds. A safe, healthy place for kids to learn is a basic community necessity.

· Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 2, referendum on KPB Ordinance 2005-09.

If passed, the ordinance would repeal Ordinance 2005-09, which included several revenue-raising measures, passed by the assembly last year. Although some may argue to the contrary, it also would negate Proposition 5 passed by the voters last year. Among other things, that proposition capped the borough sales tax at 2 percent. Unless borough residents want to see higher property taxes, the assembly’s ability to raise the sales tax is a necessary budget tool. The administration has already said it is prepared to set the sales tax at the current 2 percent, not the 3 percent the proposition’s defeat would require.