Local Government

Soldotna's History Employment Education Health & Safety Utilities Media Climate Population Recreation Economy Community Contacts

City of Soldotna

The City of Soldotna was founded in 1960 and became a first-class city in 1967. The City of Soldotna maintains a safe, healthy, positive environment for residents, businesses and future economic growth. Municipal facilities and utilities include: a Municipal Airport, Police Department, Sports & Conference Center with an Olympic-sized Ice Rink, Public Library, Water, Sanitary Sewer, Street Maintenance, Rodeo Grounds, Ball Fields, a Historical Museum, a Visitor Center, 2 campgrounds and 9 parks with a total 394.34 acres. Funding for the City is provided by sales tax, property tax, state revenue, interest earnings, federal revenue and other sources. The City operates under a council-manager form of government. Policy-making and legislative authority are vested in a governing council consisting of six members and the mayor. The City has experienced growth in taxable sales that averaged 5.48%. Taxable sales are perhaps the best indicator of the economy.

Soldotna City Hall is located at 177 North Birch Street at the corner of Birch and the Kenai Spur Highway, one quarter of a mile west of the Sterling Highway. City Hall is open from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday. After hours, weekends, or holidays messages can be left in voice mailboxes through an automated answering system, which also lists emergency contact numbers for city services.

Kenai Peninsula Borough

The Kenai Peninsula Borough was incorporated in 1964 as a second-class borough. The Borough's governmental responsibilities are comparable to those of a county. The five first-class and home-rule cities in the borough are Soldotna, Kenai, Homer, Seldovia, and Seward. Tax assessment and collection, education, solid waste disposal, planning and zoning, 911 communications, senior citizen funding, and college funding are all responsibilities carried out by the Borough government on an area-wide basis. In larger communities, planning and zoning duties have been delegated to the municipalities. The Borough provides for, on a service area basis: hospitals, fire protection, recreation, road maintenance and construction, emergency medical and ambulance services