Why Organize Borough Government?
This is the fourth and last of
four articles written on the Bor
ough Question. Why organize Bor
ough Government. These four
articles were prepared by Sen.
John McNees.
The greatest single argument
that can be advanced for organ
ized borough government comes
directly from the Constitution of
the State of Alaska in Article X,
Section I,: “The purpose ... is
to provide for maximum local
self-government with a minimum
of local government units, and to
prevent duplication of tax levy
ing jurisdictions.”
It is conceded that government,
at its best, is a complex thing and
frequently the overlapping of
jurisdiction, the conflict of inter
ests, and the duplication of serv
ices together with the duplica
tion of costs, results not only in
less efficient government but a
more costly form of government.
The organized borough is design
ed to eliminate this to the maxi
mum degree possible.
Good government results from
a close contact of the people it
governs with that government.
The closer the people are to their
law-making bodies and the fewer
of these that they have to deal
with, the better off they will be.
The Constitution therefore speci
fies that, “all local government
powers shall be vested in bor
oughs and cities. The state may
delegate taxing pov/ers to organ
ized boroughs and cities only.” In
order to be close to the govern
ment under which you must live,
and to control it to the maximum
degree possible, including the
taxation of yourselves, it is in
your best interests to organize
and function as an organized bor
ough.
Gov. Egan, who was the presi
dent of the Constitutional Con
vention, had this to say recently
about borough government:
“Perhaps it is just as well that
the state has not moved too rapid
ly in this field. For one thing,
time has been permitted for great
er education and awareness in
the field of constitutional self
government. Many ideas have
been examined and rejected, and
in the process understanding has
grown.”
Remember, the type of bor
ough government that you get
will be dependent upon you and
the interest you take in its forma
tion.
Any “borough bill” can serve
as a guide in determining what
the people want in the form of
borough government as required
in the Constitution. What kind
of borough government do you
want? Two bills have been pre
sented for your consideration;
what do you like about the fea
tures offered in them? What fea
tures in them do you dislike?
They merely provide a framework
for organization, but remember,
the greater the degree of organi
zation, the greater the degree of |
local autonomy, and as a result
you will have a government that
more nearly fits your needs and
is more nearly in line with what
you can afford to pay in the way
of taxes to support that govern
ment.
Gov. Egan made this compari
son in a recent speech to the
League of Alaskan Cities. “A
great many people still liken the
borough to the county, which is
a grave mistake. Still others talk
in terms of the state’s divesting
itself of various functions, and
their costs, on inauguration of
the borough system. This, too, is
a mistake in large degree, because
few functions will be exercised
by borough government except as
the borough itself has ability to
pay and the necessary popula
tion to create a tax base yield
sufficient to support services to
be rendered.”
What can you as an individual,
a committee, a service club, or a
city council do immediately to in
sure the kind of local government
that you want and can afford to
pay for?
First, secure and study copies
of the various borough bills that
will be presented to the Legisla
ture for consideration.
Second, send in your sugges
tions and criticisms to the chair
men of the local government com
mittees of the House and the Sen
ate.
Third, secure a copy of the
“preliminary report on borough
government” prepared jointly by
the Alaska Legislature Council
and the Local Affairs Agency,
and see what the various alterna
tives are that are open to you.
(This may be secured by writing
to the Local Affairs Agency, Box
710, Juneau.) The bills may be
secured by writing to the Mail
ing Room, Alaska State Legis
lature, Box 2199, Juneau.
Organize a committee within
your community to thoroughly
study the material that is avail
able. This committee should be
made up of members of your city
or village councils, school offi
cials, Chamber of Commerce of
ficials, each civic group should
be represented, as well as any
other interested individuals. Make
your suggestions to your legis
lators or to the Local Govern
ment Committee of the House and
the Senate. They will welcome
your criticisms and suggestions.
It is your responsibility to do
this, just as much as it is the
responsibility of your legislators,
and the kinds of government that
you will get will be dependent
upon the degree of participation
and effort that you make. Some
of you in time will be elected to
serve on the Borough Assembly
and the more familiarity that you
have with the organization and its
functions, the more efficient you
will be. Others of you will be
elected to serve on Charter Com
missions and you can start pre
paring for that day now.
Nine cities in Alaska have al
ready drawn up Home Rule Char
ters and in all instances the
people have adopted these char
ters at referendum elections.
Write to these cities and get copies
of their charters and ack them
to share with you some of the ex
periences they had in drafting
these charters. Ask them to point
out the good points and the bad
points that they see after the
charters have gone into effect.
One of these cities is a small
city of only a little over 1,000
population, four of them are less
than 2,000 in population, one of
them has a little over 3,000 pop
ulation, two have a little over
6,000 population, one has 13,000
and one has over 44,000. Any, or
all of them will be happy to reply
ALASKA CAB
MAIN 170
“ See Us for Sightseeing ”
Grandma Ladewig
Still Bowls ’em Over
SAN BERNADINO, Calif. —
Proving she’s not over the hill,
Grandma Marion Ladewig reeled
off the best-four-game series ever
shot on the opening day of the
All Star Bowling Touranment.
The living legend from Grand
Rapids, Mich., rolled a 900 series
to far outdistance the balance of
the 96-girl field which yesterday
began a three-day preliminary
test in the $68,000 tenpin classic.
Mrs. Ladewig, fiftyish, who has
won seven All Star titles had
games of 235-218-203-244.
The names of unsung bowlers
dominated the men’s standing
board.
Don Glinski, Hank Johnston
and Teata Semiz paced the 240
man field after the first six games
of preliminary action.
Glinski, 26-year-old instructor
from Oxnard, Calif., blasted a
225-215-211-213-218-254 — 1,336
series on the second of five men’s
squads.
Johnston of Arlington, Calif.,
rolled a 1,327 series on the first
squad and Semiz of Caramus,
N. J., shot 1,324 on the third
squad.
UNALAKLEET ELECTS A
NEW COUNCIL PRESIDENT
UNALAKLEET — Frank Deg
nan has been elected president of
the Village Council, succeeding
Stanton Katchatag. Degnan has
served as president for about 15
out of the past 20 years.
Lowell Anagick was re-elected
vice president; Francis Katongan,
secretary; Andrew Nashalook,
treasurer, and Jack Koutchak,
councilman.
TWO SETS OF TWINS
FRAMINGHAM. Mass. UP) —
Framingham Union Hospital today
disclosed Mrs. Warren E. Gar
ron gave birth to four children
in 11 months.
Mrs. Garron gave birth to twin
boys on Feb. 12. Last Wednesday
she gave birth to twin girls.
The Garrons also have another
daughter, aged 3.
Garron is the manager of a
Framingham taxi company.
to a letter from your city clerk
for a copy of their charter, see
how it fits your needs, take the
best out of each and apply it
to your own needs and you will
be off to a good start.
The following cities are Home
Rule Charter Cities: Anchorage,
Fairbanks, Cordova, Juneau, Ket
chikan, Petersburg, Seward, Sitka
and Wrangell. A City Home Rule
Charter would not require too
much modification in order to
serve as a Borough Home Rule
Charter, only redrafted to include
those services in the larger area.
These cities have all had the
experience of electing a Charter
Commission, of drafting a charter,
and of seeing it function. They
will have a big head start on other
areas when the machinery has
been adopted for the Organized
Borough. Now is the time to act.
There is no time to lose. Cities
of the second, third or fourth
class should make an immediate
effort to achieve first class status.
There are 14 first class cities in
Alaska, other than the Home Rule
Charter Cities. One of these has
less than 100 population, four
have less than 300 population, six
have less than 500 population,
and eleven of them have less
than 1,000 population. No city is
too small to strive for better gov
ernment than they currently have.
NOME SANITARY
SERVICE
Phone Main 1
P. O. Box 460
Japan Plans to Inaugurate
A Space Program this Year
TOKYO t/P — Japan plans to
inaugurate a space program this
year with the aim of building an
operational earth-circling satel
lite by 1963, officials of the gov
ernment’s Science and Technolo
gy Agency reported.
The satellite would be sent into
orbit with American rockets
from a launching pad in the
United States.
Fine Job Printing At The Nugget
NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES
IN THE REGULATIONS OF
THE DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS
Notice is hereby given that the De
partment of Public Works, pursuant to
the authority vested by Section CH-157
of SLA-1957 proposes to amend regula
tions in Title 14 of Alaska Administra
tive Code as follows:
Add to Section 910 the following:
(e) It shall be the duty of the owner
or operator of every truck, trailer, or
semi-trailer, operated over the high
ways of the State of Alaska, to cause
to be painted in a conspicuous place
upon the side of said vehicle, in legible
figures at least three (31 inches high,
the unladen weight of said vehicle as
given on the certificate of registra
tion for said vehicle.
(fl "Unladen weight” shall be the
actual weight of the vehicle including
the cab. body and all accessories with
which the truck, trailer, or semi-trailer
is equipped for normal use on the high
ways. but shall not include any load,
provided that for vehicles mounted with
machinery or equipment nor normally
designed for motor vehicles and not
used for transporation of property other
than machinery or equipment that is
permanently attached to the vehicle,
then for the purpose of unladen weight
as used for license purposes such weight
shall be three-fourths (%) of the gross
weight of such vehicle as evidenced by
a weight certificate issued from an ap
proved scale.
Notice is also given that any person
interested may present statements or
arguments in writing relevant to the
action proposed by addressing the same
to Mr. Richard A. Downing, Department
of Public Works, P. O. Box 1361, Juneau,
Alaska on or before 3:00 p. m., on the
17th day of February, 1961. The De
partment of Public Works upon its own
motion or at the instance of any inter
ested person, may thereafter adopt the
above proposal substantially as above
set forth without further notice.
Dated: January 9, 1961.
DPEPARTMENT OF PU
Department of Public Works,
Richard A. Downing,
Commissioner.
Yankee Slugger Mantle
Gets a Salary Boost
NEW YORK UP) — Yankee slug
ger Mickey Mantle today signed
his 1961 contract for about $75,000,
making him the highest paid
player in the American League.
The 31-year-old home run king
received a big boost in pay for
his part in the New York team’s
drive to the American League
Pennant.
No figures were released by the
club but it was understood the
famed switch-hitter had received
a $10,000 pay increase over last
year, making his salary for the
coming season $75,000.
He had been cut $7,000 last
year. This not only restored the
cut, a sore spot with Mantle, but)
lifted him to a higher bracket.
Mantle hit only .275 last sea
son but he led the league with
40 home runs and was a big star
in the World Series.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NUGGET
I
WINTER SCHEDULE
FAIRBANKS TO NOME (Via Kotzebue)
EACH MONDAY and FRIDAY — FLIGHT 309
Lv. Fairbanks *7:30 a.m. Ar. Kotzebue 8:20 a.m.
Lv. Kotzebue 9:00 a.m. Ar. Nome 9:45 a.m.
EACH WEDNESDAY — FLIGHT 309
Lv. Fairbanks *7:30 a.m. Ar. Kotzebue 9:00 a.m.
Lv. Kotzebue 9:40 a.m. Ar. Nome 10:45 a.m.
FAIRBANKS TO NOME
EACH TUESDAY and SATURDAY — FLIGHT 311
Lv. Fairbanks *7:30 a.m. Ar. Tanana *8:05 a.m.
Lv. Tanana *8:15 a.m. Ar. Galena *8:55 a.m.
Lv. Galena *9:25 a.m. Ar. Nome 9:25 a.m.
FAIRBANKS TO NOME (Direct)
EACH THURSDAY — FLIGHT 311
Lv. Fairbanks *7:30 a.m. Ar. Nome 8:40 a.m.
NOME TO FAIRBANKS (Direct)
EACH MONDAY — FLIGHT 310
Lv. Nome 10:45 a.m. Ar. Fairbanks *1:55 p.m.
EACH WEDNESDAY — FLIGHT 310
Lv. Nome 4:30 pm. Ar. Fairbanks *8:40 p.m.
EACH FRIDAY — FLIGHT 310
Lv. Nome 2:00 p.m. Ar. Fairbanks *5:10 pm.
NOME TO FAIRBANKS (Via Kotzebue)
EACH TUESDAY and SATURDAY — FLIGHT 312
Lv. Nome 1()725 p"m. Ar. Kotzebue 11:10 'am.
Lv. Kotzebue 11:50 am. Ar. Galene *1:45 p.m.
Lv. Galena *2:00 pm. Ar. Tanana *2:40 pm.
Lv. Tanana *2:50 p.m. Ar. Fairbanks *3:25 p.m.
EACH THURSDAY — FLIGHT 312
Lv. Nome 9:40 am. Ar. Kotzebue 10:25 am.
Lv. Kotezebue 11:05 am. Ar. Fairbanks *1:55 pm.
(*) Alaska Standard Time. All other times Bering Standard 1