The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly met Tuesday night and an ordinance for introduction that was passed on the consent agenda seeks to provide uniformity for board positions.
The Borough seeks to amend KPB 16.04 to establish residency requirements for appointed service area board members. According to the Kenai Peninsula Borough, several provisions in Chapter 4.30 of Borough Code place a one-year residency requirement on elected officials; candidates for mayor, candidates for School District Board seats, and candidates for elected service area board positions. The Borough states that there’s not a residency requirement for appointed service area board positions.
Assemblyman Jesse Bjorkman, “(It is) just a way to codify the qualifications for people who want to serve on local service area boards in making sure they are residents of the service area that they would like to represent.”
While the newer Western Emergency Service Area section of Borough Code places a requirement that two service area members be from the Anchor Point area and two from the Ninilchik area, there’s no length of residence requirement as there is with elected service area board positions. The Borough seeks to amend KPB 16.04 that would make the requirements for all positions the same, regardless of whether they are elected or appointed while still allowing flexibility when needed, citing consistency and uniformity throughout the Borough Code.
A hearing on the ordinance will be held on March 2, 2021.
