I want to express my sincere thanks to Mayor Mike Navarre for fixing a huge problem for me and over a dozen other senior citizens of the borough who were denied their senior property tax exemption for this, our first year filing. The Borough Assembly said our “excuse” for filing late was not for “good cause.” Being “unaware” of a February 15 filing deadline was not a good enough reason for the assembly to waive the late-file and give us the exemption we qualified for. Turns out, the February 15 deadline was leftover from a previous tax arrangement with the State of Alaska and no longer applied. In fact, by the time we received our tax assessments in early March, and could see which exemptions we had or didn’t have, it was already too late to timely file.
Thank you Mayor Navarre for returning my calls and presenting an ordinance which fixes the borough code for both seniors and disabled veterans, and especially, for making it retroactive, so that we qualified seniors will now receive our first senior tax exemption on time. You’re a good mayor and a good man and I thank you, and the ladies in your office, for the decency and respect you showed me.