Daily Sitka Sentinel

Assembly Takes Look At Budget Unknowns

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Anticipating a difficult budget-balancing year, the Assembly and city staff moved up the schedule for work sessions to review enterprise funds, capital outlays and a level of funding for the Sitka School District.
    The first meeting was Thursday night, with six Assembly members there to hear presentations by the finance staff on the broad picture.
    There are a huge number of “unknowns” at this point, the Assembly was told, some of which are related to local revenues still coming in, school enrollment figures, and costs associated with the hospital affiliation process.
    At the state level the unknowns include Sitka’s share in the governor’s budget, such as revenue sharing, school funding, contributions to the retirement systems, and school bond reimbursement.
    There are also variables at the federal level, including Secure Rural Schools funding, which in the past has been shared by the city and the school district, and federal payments in lieu of taxes, which fluctuate from year to year and are dependent on federal appropriations.
    “A lot will have to do with the schools,” Assembly member Kevin Mosher said. “They’re our biggest budget item.”
    That meeting is set for 6 p.m. next Thursday, at the Sitka High School library.
    Assembly members stated their support in general of education and the schools, but said they need to balance the needs of the school district, with the need to maintain and replace infrastructure, and other city expenses.
    “I look forward to the meeting to see where they’re at,” Aaron Bean said. “If they’re at a $1.3 million deficit and assuming they’re going to get the same amount – we need to prepare them to make tough decisions.”
5    Richard Wein said he’s interested in the details of the school district budget.
    “It’s very important to really take a hard look at how the money is being spent and where are we going with money that’s being spent in the district,” he said.
    Noting the district’s goals for closing the achievement gap, he said he would like to understand how the money is being spent on achieving the district’s goals, and how the district is measuring success.
    Wein said he’s also looking forward to an “honest, candid discussion on what the realities are.”
    He added today, “It appears that the city and school district are not communicating as they should be.”
    The finance department prepared preliminary figures, so the Assembly would have an idea of where staff members expect revenues and expenditures to fall.
    But Controller Melissa Haley said the Assembly will have some decisions to make in the coming months.
    “The core challenge is there’s not enough to fully fund everything we would like to,” Haley said today. “They’re going to have to find a balance. They’re going to have to decide what level to fund infrastructure to continue to maintain it at our current level, what to continue to fund schools at and what services to provide and eliminate.”
    The finance department on Thursday also pointed to the increased importance of sales tax revenues in funding city government. Revenues are expected to go up between fiscal year 2018 and FY19, with the increase in the sales tax cap from $3,000 to $12,000. (Some additional revenues were also realized when the Assembly eliminated the senior sales tax exemption earlier in 2018, but it was reinstated through the public vote on Oct. 1, 2018.)
    Haley said it’s still early in the process with a number of unknowns remaining, due to a number of factors at the local, state and federal levels.
    “Ultimately, the Assembly is going to have to decide, and as we go into the budget process we’ll be able to nail that down,” Haley said. “It’s all a moving piece.”