So far, no more ferry system cuts

The Alaska Marine Highway System made it through one step in the legislative budget process without further cuts. But those could come later.

The House Finance Subcommittee on the state Department of Transportation budget did remove $2 million in general funds. That’s the pot of money that pays for most state operations.

But the committee replaced it with the same amount from a separate fund made up of earnings from ferry tickets, sales and other revenue.

A sign along Juneau's Glacier Highway points to the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
A sign along Juneau’s Glacier Highway points to the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

Juneau Democratic Rep. Sam Kito III is one of the panel’s seven members.

He said the change should prevent deeper service cuts on top of those made by the governor.

“But it’s not a sustainable source in the long term. So the department is going to need to figure out how to try and generate revenue as opposed to relying on the system fund for that support,” he said.

Ferry officials have said they’re streamlining operations to reduce the impacts of cuts. But there are limits.

The governor’s budget, released in December, included about $142 million for the fiscal year starting in July. That’s a $5 million cut for the ferry system.

It’s about 8 percent lower than the current budget year and about 11 percent less than the previous one.

The House Finance Transportation Subcommittee considered, but rejected, further ferry cuts during a Thursday meeting.

The budget could undergo further changes in the full Finance Committee, as well as on the House floor. It will follow a similar process in the state Senate.

Rep. Dan Ortiz, a Ketchikan independent on the budget subcommittee, hopes it won’t change.

“While it might be just another step in a downward trend for the ferry system, ultimately there has to be a decision that says, ‘No, we’ve gone far enough,’” he said.

Last year, budget cuts and mechanical breakdowns led to changes in the busy tourist season schedule. That caused some visitors to cancel sailings, as well as lodging and excursions in port communities, as well as others around the state.

Transportation spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said this summer’s ferry schedule anticipates the budget cuts made by the governor and upheld by the committee.

The state ferry Matanuska tied up at Alaska Ship and Drydo
The state ferry Matanuska ties up at the Ketchikan shipyard. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)

“It’s our intention as a department to not make any changes to the summer schedule. We don’t anticipate that would alter any service that we’ve already planned for the summer of 2016,” he said.

The committee did reduce the budget for Transportation Department vehicle replacement by 10 percent. The statewide cut totals $1.3 million.

Kito said that could affect some very basic services.

“I am concerned about what that’s going to mean for snowplowing, especially places like the Haines Highway, some places around Juneau and the Skagway Klondike Highway,” he said.

Under the budget plan, each of the department’s three regions will see proportional cuts.

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