The frontiersman., 1963-05-16
The Borough Question

lhe Borough Question
 Empire builders who proponents of the Captain Cook Borough, including the Matanvska and susifns Valley areas. have arguments that indeed unconvin Cng.
 We have repeatedly heard that inc cost of govern rnent would be cheaper in large borough such the Captain Cook. However. one need only look the figure needed 10 run the Cfy of Anchorage; Sl 32 million which required mill levy of or l2 mills against the $ mills presently needed to the City of Palmer The per capita cost is S370 against per capita 10 Palmer residents of s2o9 Does that prove bgness in it. selt IS economical?
 Rate Of growth Of the Anchorage area is creatinq burdens upon school facilities. public utilities tanspor- tation routes and other phases of public services
 Using inc school program as an example since it $ the one mandatory service required in all boroUqhs on an area-wide basis, enghtenne comparisons in the 9oO-ol financial report are found. By law, bonded indebtedness IS limited 10 10 per cent of the total eValU
 oR of district Al that time the Anchorage school district in hook 10 the tune of % million dollars or 80 per cent of it's limit. The anticipated payments of interest ALONE until the year 1881 would amount to over 6 million dollars and would be enough money to run the MatanUska-SUstna Borough and inc City of Palmer 712 years. on FULLY EXPANDED FACILITIES Under the bor- oogh law this obligation may be distributed through out the ENTIRE borough. Can this be construed 10 be BARGAIN 10 the MatanUskaSUstna residents?
 report of the Borough Subcommittee on health
 made last year delves into another aspect Of the aeged economy in large borough: The work of health off ger is largely that of public relations man and for neafh oftoef 10 make the contacts and do the public relations for large borough would be tremendous task, and n the end people would not feel that they had 3 health program. In order 10 keep touch with the problems ot the area the health officer needs to travel about This would be very expensive activity within arge borough requiring the health officer 10 travel ex cessiVely, would be more expensive heathwise and ess satisfactory than breaking the area down into smaller boroughs and meeting the needs of inc people locally"
 We certainly have quarrel with the Anchorage but do feel that the Mataunska- Susna area is not economically lnegraed with the Anchorage area Aneh- ofage IS not the sUpper of the Valleys commodities as IS not engaged in the manufacturing of commodities which the residents of the Valleys consume is geo. graphical employment center and distribution center of imported commodities from all parts of the US and the world Through it's wholesale distributors the comnodit es are Tn turn transported throughout the State of Alaska If argues that because of this distribution fhs area constitutes ntegrated economy then we r0usf also project that thinking each point which re- 2eves goods through Anchorage Thus every community north and west 10 the Arctic and Bene Seas must neoes SarlH be considered inegrated with Anchorage.
 "A distribution point does not make surrounding areas dependent that center since may obtain the same goods via Valdez the Alaska Highway etc It is oeoanse individual businesses which have located in Anchorage have become competitive and offer local re- TaIlers inc lowest cost.
 The only essential commodity of any economy is food Without # exist Thus dependency of any society is on land and what h produces
 From ths society may be self sufficient. guid- ng its destiny according 10 its ability The economy Of agricultural area continues to be more sef-suffcent through development of additional varieties of food and increasing the population and thus the demands for more food city is place without food production and is dependent surrounding farming communities "or tar-fung food producers # nearby oompet tive they will always purchase available surpluses. be- cause like all Americans, they want the for the least The more competitive the local products become he will
 The majority of people in Alaska voted for Statehood and the right 10 govern themselves The majority of people in the Matanuska and SUstna Valleys feel they gan govern themselves better with smaller borough as they have the abit fortude and wherewthal 10 do il.
 Bgness is not criterion of economy.