Assembly Diary

Upcoming Meetings
Monday the Assembly Public Works committee meets at noon. There will be an update on the progress of the Transit facility/Parking garage and the Public Works Facility at 7 mile. There is also a report regarding a second access to the Lemon Creek commercial area. See the agenda.

The Lands Committee meets at 5pm and will address issues on the Seawalk, particularly the problem of getting past Taku Smokeries where there is lots of back and forth offloading forklift traffic. The committee will also hear about the Lemon Creek access issue and about potential Wood Stove restrictions in the Mendenhall Valley. See the agenda.

The Planning Commission meets Tuesday night at 7pm and will hear a “Downtown Parking Garage and Transit Center Update” See agenda.

This week the Alaska Municipal League holds its annual meeting in Ketchikan and several Assembly members (including me) will attend. The Municipal League represents all local governments in Alaska. It tries to develop a unified front on various issues affecting communities across the state. For more information click here.
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Miscellaneous: City Manager Rod Swope announced he will retire as of April 30. The Hangar owners have purchased a controlling interest in Merchants Warf. And the Mental Health Trust is negotiating to build an office building for the Department of Labor on the Subport land area.
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Future Challenges
In the upcoming year the Assembly will confront at least two major proposals for new spending; Area-wide curbside recycling and an expansion of Capital Transit. Last year the Assembly approved moving forward to establish an area-wide recycling program, but final approval awaits an estimate of costs and how it will be paid. Currently the plan is to pay through increased user fees on garbage pickups. There is also an urgent need to expand our public transportation system. It is overcrowded and limited in its routes. However, this expansion will not be able to be covered solely through bus fares. It will require general fund money and the challenge, again, is how to pay. There is a good chance we can get federal grants to help pay for new busses, but annual ongoing operating costs will have to be paid through local revenue.

Essentially any new spending requires either cutting back on other programs, new taxes, or eliminating current tax exemptions. All three are difficult. All three have vehement opponents.

There will also be discussion in the near future about cutting sales taxes on food and utilities. Everyone likes to cut taxes, but the question is still how to pay. Will citizens accept a higher property tax to pay for sales tax reduction? Do citizens want to cut government services? (Our League of Women Voters Budget Survey says no) Will citizens accept elimination of the senior tax exemption, if food and utility taxes are eliminated. Last time we discussed the senior tax exemption there was huge opposition.

Anyhow, these are the big issues I see confronting the Assembly in the coming year. I am sure there will be others.