Deltana Borough Overwhelmingly Rejected

Deltana area residents have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed borough, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The unofficial vote tally was about 90% against the plan. A plan to fund the proposed borough on payments from the Pogo mine and a utility tax also failed by about the same measure.

Read the entire article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner >>>

Court Challenge Clouds Proposed Borough Finances

A court challenge by two Delta area residents against a financial agreement between the City of Delta Junction and the operators of the Pogo mine could restrict income for the proposed borough the Fairbanks Daily News Miner reported today. The suit challenges the constitutionality existing payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) agreement, the paper reported:

Residents Margaret Mullins and Mike Murphy have challenged the deal as unconstitutional. Last month they unsuccessfully asked a state judge to halt the ongoing by-mail election occurring in Delta.

Despite the judge’s denial, however, Mullins and Murphy’s case remains open in Alaska Superior Court.

Murphy, a former Fairbanks North Star Borough engineer, has argued through his attorney in court documents that the deal between Delta Junction and the mine illegally surrenders a future borough assembly’s power to tax the mine. That, said Fairbanks attorney Charles Cole, weakens the six-year proposed budget submitted by borough organizers to the Alaska Local Boundary Commission.

The State of Alaska has pointed out that a similar PILT arrangement exists with the Northwest Arctic Borough, and that has not been challenged.

Read the entire article in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner >>>

New Deltana Borough Discussion Possibility

With the upcoming election on the proposed Deltana Borough, we want to provide a way for readers to provide information and opinions for others in the community to read. We didn't want to do that in the Community News section of the Delta News Web as we want to focus here on news. So, we have created a new section called Deltana Borough Discussion. You'll find links to recent postings in the content area under the photo of the day. There are two new pages here: Deltana borough - YES and Deltana borouogh - NO.

We welcome articles from anyone. Articles must be 500 words or fewer, and must be signed. Your article may be published anonymously, if you wish, but we will not publish articles from unidentified individuals. Send your article to webeditor@deltanewsweb.com We will not publish articles that are personal in a negative way, and we reserve the right to reject any article.

As individuals who operate the Delta News Web, we of course have our own opinions about this issue, but we will strive to provide a balance of information and opinion from all perspectives.

David Johnson
Publisher