When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (5-14-24), it will consider approving the city’s general fund and enterprise fund budgets for next fiscal year.
For the last few months, the assembly held regular budget meetings, reviewing budget proposals from different city departments and giving the city’s finance director and municipal administrator direction for the budget process. The final product of those discussions is what’s before the assembly for consideration tonight.
Over the last few years, sales tax revenue has risen steadily, driven by an increase in tourism. Next year, the city is expecting that growth to level off a bit, but expenditures are up over 14 %. In a memo to the assembly, municipal Finance Director Melissa Haley writes that inflation, more tourism activity, and increased operations costs have contributed to the bump, as well as staffing vacancies. As written, the general fund budget pencils out with a small surplus of just over $40,000.
Most enterprise funds will see increases this year. Water, solid waste and moorage rates are set to rise by 4 percent, while wastewater is expected to increase by 8.25 percent. The steeper increase for wastewater is due in part to updated EPA rules that required the city to invest in a new disinfection system at the wastewater treatment plant. Electric rates aren’t expected to rise, though there will be an increase to the base customer fee.
The assembly has decided again this year to fund schools to the “cap”– the maximum allowable contribution by state law. But the state funding level for schools next year remains uncertain, which has led the district to cut 16 teaching positions next year. To help the district with its budget woes, the city’s own budget includes a plan to take over management of the Blatchley Middle School swimming pool, and $125,000 for a contract to manage the Performing Arts Center.
If the assembly approves the draft budget tonight on first reading, it will review it again on final reading at the last meeting in May. Fiscal Year 25 begins on July 1.
In other business, the assembly will hear a synopsis of the Sitka Housing Summit Report, a study on housing affordability in Sitka, commissioned by the Baranof Island Housing Authority and Sitka Tribe of Alaska. And it will consider a 20 year historic preservation covenant between the State of Alaska Historic Preservation Office and the City and Borough of Sitka for the Japonski Island Boathouse.
The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live following Alaska News Nightly.