Wrangell voters will see two propositions on the ballot in the Oct. 6 local elections.

Proposition One would repeal a section of the Home Rule Charter of the City and Borough of Wrangell regarding the Thomas Bay Power Authority. The authority, which allowed Wrangell and Petersburg to run the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility, was dissolved when the Southeast Alaska Power Agency took over last summer.

If Proposition One gets the necessary votes, the Thomas Bay Power Authority will be officially removed from Wrangell’s charter.

Proposition Two would make Wrangell elected officials exempt from state financial disclosure requirements.

Members of the Borough Assembly, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the school board are required to make all of their financial holdings part of the public record.

Paul Dauphinais is the executive director of the Alaska Public Offices Commission. He said the state’s Public Official Financial Disclosure Law deals with transparency for the public.

“The people of Alaska want to ensure that public officials acting in their official capacity are free of the influence of undisclosed private or business interests,” Dauphinais said. “And that’s what this law does.”

But Wrangell assembly members agreed that the paperwork was very complicated and took a long time to complete.

Earlier this year, Assembly Member Julie Decker said the extensive paperwork can be a burden on people who want to participate in local government.

“At this point, we’re so worried about protecting the public’s interest that we’re actually sort of hurting the public’s interest because not that many people are interested in these positions,” Decker said. “And I’ve been told by a number of people over 20 years that it was a reason they did not run for any office.”

There was no opposition to the exemption at Wrangell Borough Assembly meetings. Assembly members said they verbally disclose their conflicts of interest at relevant meetings.

More than 100 communities in the state have already opted out of the law, including Ketchikan and Fairbanks. Dauphinais said it is relatively common for small communities to opt out.

A “yes” vote on Proposition Two would exempt Wrangell elected officials from disclosing their financial interests on state forms.