City Spending
Dear Editor: The first few years after statehood state budgets ran about $125k a year. Back then no one expected that tiny state government to provide for their care and happiness.
Once the oil flowed out of the pipeline and state budgets went from six figures to billions of dollars Juneau couldn’t find enough things to spend money on. (The Permanent Fund only came about because they ran out of things to spend money on and had no choice but to put the leftovers in savings.)
Back then the state ramped up spending to schools and our university system because they showed up with their hands out and Juneau had oceans of cash to give away. The state, cities, schools and university hired people like crazy.
Now the money is running low and the thousands of extra state, university, city, borough, and school employees the oil was able to pay for have retired and these bloated systems want more money from taxpayers to keep the empires going.
If our governor ends up able to curb spending to meet revenue our local school district would need almost half of what this city takes in from sales taxes and property taxes to maintain current spending levels.
Everything else in Sitka has suffered because our schools take so much. For decades our power, water, sewer systems and streets have been neglected and are on the verge of collapse as most dollars were poured into an ever growing school system. They are now top heavy with teachers, staff and buildings.
Reason must overcome emotions. The current ratio of 1 teacher for every 10 students is something we can no longer afford. Some jobs must be cut. The Assembly must spend its money wisely. It must fix these failing systems so people will want to live here, so young people will stop moving away, so families will move here.
Clyde Bright, Sitka
Logging Road Project
Dear Editor: My thanks to Sitka Public Works and to K&E Construction for the re-build of Nelson Logging Road.
It’s a great looking project.
Hugh Bevan, Sitka
