Anchorage Tomorrow

Anchorage Tomorrow, Inc.is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation organized to “encourage and promote the creation, maintenance, expansion, and staffing of municipal facilities for the citizens of the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska”. We are supported by engineers, architects, contractors, sports groups, environmental groups, park users, library supporters, interested citizens and members of the community.

Anchorage is a young and growing community that needs to pass the 2012 bond package to keep up with our community’s growing infrastructure needs. Anchorage can afford these bonds because:

Anchorage tax levels are among the lowest in the United States. A 2010 Tax Rates And Tax Burdens comparison done by the District of Columbia ranked Anchorage as having the lowest tax burden when compared to 50 other cities in the United States and the District of Columbia. With the average 2010 household income in Anchorage at between $91,716 and $93,049 the tax burden would fall slightly above 3.3%. The average of these 51 cities in 51 States and the District of Columbia was 8.4%.

The Municipality is scheduled to retire $34.1 million of existing General Obligation (GO) bonds in 2012. This would equate to 107% of the proposed 2012 GO bond amount of $31.8 million. The net increase in annual debt service is estimated at $2.5 million. The debt service on this increase would raise property taxes by approximately $29.58 on an assessed property value of $300,000.

The aggregate amount of the bond propositions is the lowest that Anchorage has seen in over a decade while the need to rehabilitate existing infrastructure is as pressing as ever. Passage of these bonds will enable the Municipality to keep from getting further behind in maximizing the life of our infrastructure.

The Municipality's proposed ballot proposition debt is within the debt burden range associated with AA rated credit. The Municipality's rating from Standard and Poor's is AA and from Fitch Ratings it is AA+.

Moreover, Anchorage Tomorrow believes this year’s “package” for roads, parks, trails, transit and public safety provides a unique blend of stimulus and opportunity for Anchorage residents because:

“Shovel-ready” - Much of the emphasis regarding the Federal stimulus package has focused on putting these funds immediately to work in wages and salaries. Fifty percent of this year’s proposed bonds would be used to fund construction contracts in 2012 that would flow directly into Anchorage’s workforce.

Leveraging existing and 2012 grant requests - There is nearly a 1.5:1 match of existing and proposed grant requests to the proposed road and drainage bonds. Thus these bonds have an immediate 150 percent “multiplier effect” in their stimulus impact.

Funding Responsible Rehabilitation - The need to preserve and extend the life of our local infrastructure is reflected in the application of bond funds to rehabilitation projects. Half of the 2012 bonds will go toward area-wide rehabilitation projects, preserving the infrastructure we have in the most fiscally responsible manner.

Reduced Operations Costs - Nearly all park projects seeking bond funding will reduce operations costs for the municipality. The park bond request will leverage nearly dollar for dollar the amount of matching monies and 2012 grant requests. As significant is the fact that the municipality has $650,000 in hand to contribute to the park bond improvements.

Honoring our Veterans - The Anchorage Veteran’s Memorial refurbishment provides essential upgrades and honors the sacrifices made by the many men and women in our military in defense of our nation. This memorial is particularly significant to our extensive local military population.