The Cordova City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to maintain the city’s current property tax rate for 2026 – not raise it.
“I’ve had numerous community members come up and say they oppose raising it and I certainly understand the financial pressures that we’re under right now, but I just feel like this isn’t the time,” Council Member Mike Mickelson said before voting to keep the current tax mill levy.
For a month the City Council has deliberated on whether or not to raise the property tax rate to cover funding gaps, including an additional $181,000 council members committed to the Cordova City School District. Last year council members bumped the mill rate from 9.93 to 11.44 mills, however they ultimately decided this week another increase would be untenable for residents.
Local resident Chris Moreno – who gave testimony opposing a property tax bump at boy the May 20 and June 3 meetings – said the city is pushing a “grim narrative” about the budget. He suggested the council consider less in-kind donations to local nonprofits, as well as scaling back on library and museum operations to balance the budget.
“I can’t help but have a strong feeling of frustration towards the city administration’s attempt to use the school district funding request as a scapegoat to push through an unnecessary property tax hike,” he told the council on May 20. “It’s time to stop pretending Cordova has an unavoidable revenue problem when perhaps Cordova has a bad decision problem.”
Other locals have said another property tax increase could drive people and business out of Cordova altogether.
A mill levy is a property tax rate wherein one mill represents $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. By maintaining an 11.44 mill rate in Cordova, the owner of a $400,000 home will owe $4,576 in property taxes for the 2026 season.
Cordova’s total taxable value for the 2026 tax year will be over $324 million, nearly a $10 million bump from the 2025 assessment of around $314 million. Council members said the increased value in individual properties alone will give them more flexibility within the budget without having to raise the mill rate.
“I think it is the right decision to not raise the mill rate, keep it where it’s at, given that property values did increase,” said newly-minted Council Member Lee Collins. “I think it is the right thing for the community given that everyone could be facing some potentially hard times.”
The council also expressed hope the financial outlook of the city could improve next year and beyond – if Cordovans see a better fishing season, or if the school district receives a bump from the state or the feds.
“If we can hold steady for the next year I think we might be in good shape,” said Council Member Debra Adams.
City staff will now input the 11.44 mill rate into their budget and begin calculating property tax bills for next year. It is unclear at this point if the city will have to cut staff or services in order to fully balance the municipal budget.
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