Money

We are about to begin the annual budget cycle. In another week the Assembly meets as the Finance Committee to examine capital improvement projects (CIPs) for the coming year. We will meet with the School Board on March 23. Then beginning in April we begin weekly Finance meetings on Wednesday nights to hear budget presentations from across the CBJ.

Here is how it works. The City Manager presents the Assembly with a balanced budget. He gets revenue projections from the finance department and then he has to do whatever cutting and trimming is necessary to make the books balance. The Enterprise Boards (Airport, Docks and Harbors, Hospital) also pay for themselves and will present balanced budgets. The School District is funded by a state formula and will present their balanced budget.

But what is going to happen is that each of these entities will probably ask for “more.” The Airport wants to do more improvements on the terminal. The Hospital wants to build a new adolescent behavioral treatment center. Docks and Harbors needs to find money to dredge Douglas Harbor and dispose of mercury contaminants, and they also are interested in buying Fisherman’s Bend. The School District will ask for “more” funding above the cap – for "outside the classroom" activities. They may or may not propose a new school bond issue. The Arts and Humanities Council wants improvements on the Armory building (JAHC). On top of that there will be a string of other groups and organizations asking for funding for this or that good cause.

The problem, of course, is that any extra dollar allocations take away from other programs or borrow (for capital projects). I am concerned that our debt burden has increased enormously over the past decade, primarily because of the string of school projects and the pool. I am very nervous about asking Juneau to fund more debt. The point is, there are no “extra” dollars.

This also is against the backdrop of extreme uncertainty for future revenue from the state or the feds – from whom we receive multiple millions. We are OK for next year – but further out it is really questionable. Ultimately we will have to confront what we want to do if we have to pay for it all locally.

I know, I know – that’s what our job is —to make allocation decisions. But to make somebody happy, somebody else’s ox is going to be gored.

Lots more to come – stay tuned.