Cordova City Council members will vote on whether or not to raise the city’s mill rate again at the body’s next meeting on June 3.
Council members and city staff labored over the decision during their last meeting, some of them indicating support for a property tax increase and others making it clear they don’t want municipal funding gaps to burden local taxpayers.
One of the city’s extra costs this year is the additional $181,000 increase it has committed to the Cordova School District, which is struggling to balance its own budget. The council last year voted to increase the property tax rate, also citing school funding concerns.
“I wanted to urge people who are listening and to people who are following this issue, especially here, not to over simplify what’s happening … It’s not just (that) there’s a gap locally and we may or may not raise property taxes to cover it,” Mayor Kristin Smith said. “There are so many factors feeding into the fact that we have a lot less money to work with.”
Those factors include the ongoing uncertainties of federal Secure Rural Schools funding, fish and fuel tax revenue, state school bond debt reimbursement, and more.
Council Member David Zastrow said there’s “lots to consider” ahead of next week’s vote.
“It’s not just about the schools, it’s a million things we’ve been dealing with for the last several years when it comes to the budget, and it’s been getting gloomier and gloomier,” he said. “So I think it’s disingenuous to say any decision we make on the mill rate is specifically because of school costs. That’s just not the case.”
City Manager Samantha Greenwood said the only long term solution to the city’s budget woes is through a property tax increase.
“A municipality’s revenue unfortunately is generated from taxes,” she said. “I mean I didn’t create this rule, this is how it works.”
The City of Cordova has long relied on federal Secure Rural Schools Program funding – grant money given to rural communities whose tax base is limited by the amount of surrounding federal forest land. In 2024 Cordova received $742,000 courtesy of the program, however President Donald Trump’s administration cut that amount to about $13,000 in 2025. This year, however, the city expects to receive around $610,700.
But Greenwood said since the grant money isn’t consistent year over year, Secure Rural Schools funding should be used for one-time payments or projects – not as a reliable base in the city’s budget.
“The only sustainable way to have that revenue for the future for the school is to do it with property tax,” she said. “We may never see (Secure Rural Schools funding) again, I don’t know, nobody knows.”
Council Member Kasey Kinsman said the city would have to decide which services, amenities or municipal jobs to cut if the council doesn’t raise the mill rate, adding “there is a price to live in paradise.”
“No one wants to pay taxes? Great. Then what are you willing to give up?” he said. “We don’t have to raise the mill rate, (but) everything still costs money.”
While some council members indicated they’d be open to increasing the mill rate to balance the municipal budget, others were staunch that raising property taxes would be catastrophic to taxpayers.
“We cannot continue to solve our problems by taxing the property holders of the community. We cannot,” Council Member Wendy Ranney said. “It’s not sustainable for the people who are carrying the burden.”
Council Member Mike Mickelson added that taxes already deter people from town in some cases, specifically fishers who have to pay fuel tax. He said the council should focus on affordability for locals and people who do business in Cordova.
“I think if there was ever a year to throw the community a bone, it’s this year,” he said.
The body urged community members to make their voices heard before the vote by participating in the public hearing.
“I’d love to hear some suggestions on what you’d like to see us do, besides ‘Just don’t raise the mill rate.’ It’s not productive,” Kinsman said.
“Comments brought to us – helpful. B—-h festivals on Facebook – not helpful,” Ranney added. “So if you have something to say, bring it to us and say it on the record.”
The public hearing will start at 6:45 p.m. at The Cordova Center on June 3, directly before the regular meeting.
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