By WIN GRUENING
Less than four months ago, Juneau voters approved a $10 million bond for wastewater facility upgrades and a $12.75 million public safety communications bond.
At last week’s City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly meeting, members discussed boosting Juneau’s property tax millage rate as well as proposals to place another $30 million in bonds on this year’s ballot.
The two new bond proposals are $20 million to upgrade water and wastewater utilities and $10 million for Juneau School District capital improvement projects.
Last fall, did anyone foresee the need to ask for another $20 million on top of the $10 million voters just approved for wastewater? Had voters been made aware of that prior to the election, they may have had questions about CBJ management and finances of utility operations.
This is occurring amid a backdrop of spectacular water and sewer rate increases. In December, residents were warned of proposed increases of more than 60% in water rates and 80% in sewer rates over the next five years. According to the city, a current total monthly water and sewer bill of $147 would rise to $258 by 2029, a combined 76% increase.
The new bonds would moderate some of the increase but only enough to barely offset the additional 5% CBJ sales tax most residents will pay.
City bonding capacity is not unlimited. It will be tested even further when CBJ is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in matching funds for flood mitigation projects and when the Second Channel Crossing project is approved.
The sudden emergencies that have continued to crop up in budget discussions over the last several years are troubling. The police communications bond (while necessary) was an emergency, and now school building repair and utility upgrades are critical. These may be legitimate projects, but why are they ignored for so long that they become emergencies?
Today, when faced with a real crisis (the threat of widespread glacial flooding), the Assembly’s knee-jerk reaction is to jack up taxes and debt to preserve their status-quo spending.
Taxpayers deserve to know why the Assembly is perfectly willing to balloon our debt for so-called critical projects while they have no problem sequestering millions for discretionary Assembly grants and squirreling away $16 million of taxpayer funds for a new city office building. Rejected twice by voters, the bulk of the fund created by the Assembly for that project remains unused and should be available for other uses.
Instead of a new office building, city leaders decided to rent expensive office space to house employees. But they are considering spending $8-11 million in repairs and improvements to vacated school buildings – space that could be used for offices. Does that make sense?
Assembly members apparently have also agreed to double cruise ship docking fees by adding another $7 per berth tax on top of the existing $7 fee.
Higher cruise dock fees, while increasing revenues, seem less transparent when learning the Assembly intends to use them for dock-related operating expenses, traditionally funded by Marine Passenger Fees (MPF). Freeing up MPF funds in this way allows a wider range of uses in projects and services that presumably address cruise tourism impacts. As readers will recall, the “wider range of uses” apparently includes the millions of dollars the Assembly has shoveled into the voter-rejected arts and culture center, all without the approval of voters who will be taxed to operate and maintain it.
Juneau taxpayers should rightfully question why community priorities like public safety, utilities, and schools are put on the ballot while the Assembly allocates large cash appropriations for discretionary grants and projects that voters have rejected.
Little, if any, consideration is being given to reducing the budget in any significant way to address Juneau’s affordability.
Assembly priorities should promote affordability. Taxes diverted for discretionary projects could be used for paying down debt or rebating back to taxpayers, thereby lowering property taxes and the overall cost of housing.
City leaders seem to believe that no matter what the financial demands are, they can be met from an endless pot of money.
Ultimately, one way or another, that means it will be coming from the often ignored and increasingly stretched Juneau taxpayers.
After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening became a regular opinion page columnist for the Juneau Empire. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations.
Juneau is a Progressive city. They understand. It is easy to get the rest of Alaska to pay for their standards of living. It is a public sector union doctrine. We need to change the name. How about Fantasy Island? Land of the Lost? Alice in Wonderland? Truthfully, let’s be honest. It is organized crime. We will call it Rome. New Rome?
While I certainly agree with Wins’ column I fail to see where you are making any sense. We are not asking for state dollars for these. Yours is a standard knee jerk reaction that quite frankly I am sick of. You wnant to talk about progresssive failures look a lot further north.Clean up your own nest.
Alaska isn’t paying for any of this. We are.
What is the rest of Alaska paying for Juneau? All of Southeast Alaska is paying for everything up North. We have sales tax here and pretty much zero of the State budget pays for anything down here. We have a temporary sales tax to pay for Police and other services. Anchorage has no sales tax and most of theState budget to pay for snow removal services, etc. Cities North of us have no sales tax and everything paid for them. So what’s your complaint?
Did they terminate the marine highway stop at Juneau?
I hope the assembly spends way more and raises the taxes. Gino gets what they vote for. They want that assembly that they should pay for it.
Why? Simple. No matter how many times we say no and they do it anyway, we vote them back into office.
We’ve taught them we don’t really mean no.
The Assembly will bankrupt this community. Not might, will. In the meantime the cost of living will increase and increase until people can’t live here anymore.
As Alaska’s leading progressive city, it’s “More for me and less for thee” with the intelligentsia that run that liberal hell hole.
Anchorage has become every bit as bad as Juneau with regard to the rape the taxpayer mentality. Death by a million cuts.
Oh, look.
A local assembly is telling the taxpayers that they do not care what they taxpayers want. They are going to do whatever makes them look good in the eyes of their campaign donors and special interests that have their ears. Where else is that happening??? Oh, right Anchorage.
Right on I hope the non caring taxpayers wake up and see where their dollars go.
Very good article, years ago SE Alaska was 5 years behind what was happening in the lower 48. With social media I would guess cut by 1/3. There is hope Alaska, the tide is turning.
Move the capitol to Anchorage!
Trump would do that, just as he moved the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Anchorage, our holy place.
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