Incorporation — NO!
(Continued from Pago 1)
while trying to convince the court
that Palmer should be allowed
to vote for incorporation recent
ly, testified that Palmer would
be a city of 15,000 in the next
five years. Offhand we would
say that this would be a calamity;
the only thing we can see for the
citizens of Palmer is a lot of
trouble if this were to come true.
We are not worried, however, be
cause Palmer’s population has
just about doubled in the last
five years and while it may
double again in the next five
years it doesn’t seem probable
that it will amount to much more
than this. A city of the size sug
gested would undoubtedly have
to house people in tents and dug
outs for some time due to the
shortage of materials and labor.
We might be able to furnish
15,000 people with liquor in that
time but we doubt if a small
fraction could be furnished ■with !
places to live.
Then we hear the statement
that Palmer can’t get utilities, !
schools and hospitals unless it is
incorporated. Yet we have a good
airfield and a good stretch of
highway that would have been •
difficult to get it if the town had |
been incorporated. The Public i
Roads Administration doesn’t '
furnish money to build highways
in incorporated towns. Just how
Palmer would have raised the
money to build the highway
through the proposed incorporat
ed district is still a mystery to us.
Our schools may not be adequate
but they are just as good as they
are in most of the incorporated ;
cities. As for hospitals non-incor- 1
poration is no handicap. i
Public Utilities
Now consider public utilities. ;
How about Wrangell—an incor
porated city that had no water it
all for a long time last summer. : i
Seldovia is just as limited as! \
Palmer. Cordova has to pump ; e
water out of a glacial fed lake, j r
They have been granted $140,000 i \
to improve their system and : i
can’t get it because they can't f
raise $70,000 in matching funds, c
Homer is still using the town r
pump although a public utility i
] district was formed five years ago
to install a water and sewer sys
tem.
The biggest joke of the year is
the idea that as soon as Palmer is
incorporated some one is going
to give the town a lot of money
to build a lot of things they want.
Sure, there may be some match
ing funds available but don’t for
get that it won’t be a total gift
by any means. As we will show
later on the entire tax receipts
will have to be used entirely to
just keep the city government
going and it is very questionable
if there will be enough to meet
all of these expenses. How are we
going to make the improvements
without imposing a sales tax and
adding to the tax bill of the ave
rage citizen?
Budget and Taxes
Now getting down to the bud
get as proposed, we hear that j
there are two million dollars j
worth of assessable property. The
writer learns that the four larg
est taxpayers pay a little over
one-fourth of the real and per
sonal property taxes. This leaves
the small homeowners and busi
ness men to pay the other three
fourths. As the Agricultural Re
search and Alaska Railroad won’t
oe taxable it means that proper
ty values will have to be raised
to meet the demands of the tax
:ollector.
The budget maker counted
nore liquor stores and cocktail
Dars than there are so that makes
ess revenue than shown on the
istimate. Who believes that there
ire or will be 300 car licences
;old in Palmer next year; and
low can anyone believe that the
own can get rent from buildings
tnd equipment that are non-exis
ant? Who would pay for water or
ewer services until the city has
my with which to serve the citi
ens?
Police and Fire
According to the proposed bud
et two cops would be hired; but
/ho would work a 12 hour shift
very day for less than $350 a
ronth? Then may we ask who
/ould act as a full-time fireman
Dr $200.00 a month as the budget
rovides? How much of a jail
ould the town build for $2,000
ot to mention the other build
rgs enumerated? Where are the
two street department men com
ing from at $250 a month each in
the light of the fact that common
labor is asking $2.73 per hour?
We would also like to know how
much it is going to cost to get
some of the revenue that is listed.
Will the cops have to catch dogs
and perform the duties of several
other departments?
City Jobs
That only job that looks like it
might be filled is the city clerk
and assistant at $8,000 a year. Ap
[ parently this is a special job for
some lucky politician and if it is
worked out as it is in our large
neighboring city it might be only
one of several jobs that might be
worth $15,000 to the lucky win
ner. This job is well worth in
vestigation by the tax-payers be
fore it becomes a chain around
the city’s neck.
In conclusion, it seems like in
corporation at the present/time
is.not going to be worth its cost;!
that it will put high taxes in the i
community especially the small j
business man and the homeown-1
er; it will not solve the principal
immediate problems of the town
and may retard its growth by ad
ding to the present high costs of
taxes and building. To incorpor
ate just so some politically mind
ed citizens can have jobs so they
can experiment with your tax
money seems foolish Why not
wait until we have sufficient pro
perty so that we can afford the
cost of a city government. The
desirability of incorporation is
not questioned when the right
time comes but that is not this
year.
Ski Club Takes To Shovels
Tow-Cable Project Starts
Bring out those shovels Sunday
and prepare to dig—well, for a
few minutes anyway. That’s the
order of the Matanuska Valley
Outing Club.
Big project is to prepare the
way for installing tow-cable
braces and motor.
Last Sunday several members
oad a day skiing at Little Susit
na; snow conditions were fine
with tobogganing as a side sport.
Next regular meeting of the
:lub is April 3, at the Co-Op club
'oom.
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In Palmer
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741 'C' St., Anchorage, Box 2276— Dial 35601
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