"An Act relating to consolidating or abolishing certain service areas in second class boroughs. "

SB 114 will enable a Second Class Borough to consolidate or dissolve service areas that are nonfunctional or are functioning below minimum standards as authorized by AS 29.35.450. The bill protects service areas that are taxing themselves to adequately maintain the safety of their own roads. Consolidation or dissolutions will be decided subject to public hearing processes of the local Assembly.

State revenue sharing was once sufficient to allow many subdivisions outside city limits to maintain their area roads. Local service area road commissions were created to collect revenue sharing based on the mileage in their service area. With the termination of the revenue sharing program, many service areas do not now have sufficient funding to conduct road maintenance and as a result have become nonfunctional and many roads are deteriorating. Second Class Boroughs have expressed concern about their liability for the roads even though they have no road powers. The boroughs cannot dissolve a service area without a vote of the residents, and need this statute change to allow for the dissolution or consolidation of nonfunctioning districts.

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