Soldotna City Council members are directing administration to create a resolution that will schedule a special election for a citizen-led initiative asking voters to weigh in on creating a Charter Commission.
Linda Hutchings, the prime sponsor of the citizen’s initiative, testified that a special election as soon as possible will be better than putting the question on the next regular election this fall.
Hutchings: “Because it’s in everybody’s mind right now, we’ve lost our sales tax, the rest of the borough decided what our city should do which I feel very upset about, because the people in the City of Soldotna voted to keep our sales tax.”
Soldotna resident Daniel Lynch testified in opposition, saying it makes no sense to have another special election just over a year after the city’s last one on the same topic that residents voted down.
Council members and Hutchings stated that the public was not educated well enough during the last special election, despite $5,000 allocated for public education materials during it.
Overall City Clerk Shellie Saner said 2015’s February 3 special election cost around $12,000.
She also said the soonest this special election can take place is May 9th, and would simply ask voters if they support the creation of the Charter Commission, as well as let them elect members.
If voters approved that, the Charter Commission would have one year to bring forward a home rule charter for voters to approve or fail. Saner says that period would include an abundance of public testimony.
The charter were approved, Soldotna would become home-ruled; if failed, the commission members would have another year to amend the charter and voters would weigh-in again.
