The Juneau Assembly discussed a list of more than 40 city services and facilities that could face reductions or closures for the first time at a finance committee meeting Wednesday night.
Assembly member Christine Woll chairs the finance committee. She started the meeting by acknowledging the difficult situation the Assembly is facing.
“These are pretty startling to see. But you can’t look at our finances and not have to start discussing some of these things,” she said. “So that’s where we’re at.”
The Assembly must close a multimillion-dollar gap in the city’s budget over the next few months. That’s because voters passed a tax exemption on food and utilities and a cap on the city’s property tax rate last fall. Those measures created an estimated $10 to $12 million annual recurring budget hole. The Assembly has until July 1 to finalize the city’s budget before the next fiscal year begins.
At the meeting on Wednesday, Assembly members discussed the list of ideas for reductions or closures to city services. The list was released Monday and includes hot-button items like closing the Dimond Park Field House, one of Juneau’s two pools, and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Other reductions on the list are reducing local grants, slashing some legal services and city staff’s travel and training budgets.
The Assembly didn’t make any decisions at the meeting, but members asked city staff for more information on the different proposals.
Some members wanted more details about the tradeoff of closing one city pool over another, while other members wanted more on topics like transferring some city legal services to the state. The Assembly also discussed ways the city could increase funding, from large ideas like raising utility rates to small ideas, like requiring cat licenses. Mayor Beth Weldon suggested leasing out the Douglas Fire Station.
“It’s hardly used. It’s got very old apparatus in it. There’s not hardly any Douglas volunteers left and as living quarters and bays,” she said. “I think it would be a good place for people to lease, and I think we’d make good revenue from it.”
The Assembly will discuss proposed service reductions or increases to revenue before they vote. Residents can give public testimony on the topics at upcoming meetings on April 29 and June 6.
In a recent city budget survey, residents chose maintenance of streets, supporting schools and public safety as the areas most important to fund in the budget. On the other end, residents’ lowest priorities for funding were tourism management, climate action and energy efficiency, and economic development.
The Assembly is expected to approve the final budget by June 15.
