House Bill 19, the one-time registration for vehicles older than a set year which is optional for municipalities, was implemented by the state earlier this year.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre said they will likely examine whether or not it will work for the borough more closely to the fiscal year 2016 budget discussions.
Navarre: “I don’t know that there are any yet who have implemented, some are looking at it. I know the Mat-Su borough is looking at it but even they’ve put it off for a while to evaluate it in terms of what it means in terms of loss revenue and whether or not the current revenues are adequate to meet the needs of the budget. Thats always the concern if you’re going to do something that impacts your revenue stream does that mean it ends up being pushed some place else to raise those revenues and if so you’ve got to weigh those trade offs and make a determination about what works best for individual communities.”
He added that that discussion may entail other tax items as well.
Navarre: “One of the things that I think should be done is there should be a comprehensive look at the entire borough tax structure from time to time and I think that its time that we do that instead of looking at things on a piece meal basis.”
That legislation would end annual registration fees for vehicles over a certain age by creating a one-time permanent registration.