By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly, meeting in a special session Wednesday, approved a $25,000 budget item for The RIDE bus service in the fiscal year 2020 budget.
Kevin Mosher made the motion for the appropriation, which passed on a 4-0 vote. Mosher, Richard Wein, Valorie Nelson and Mayor Gary Paxton voted in favor.
City Administrator Keith Brady said today the funds will come out of the budget surplus for the year. The RIDE is a cooperative project of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Center for Community and the city.
“This is a bargain, because Sitka can in no way support the services that are being rendered to Sitkans,” Wein said, citing the 218 rides a day and 50,000 rides a year The RIDE provides here. “I think it is a wonderful partnership that we need to support, even in this most token way.”
The special meeting was scheduled to refine the city’s FY 2020 operating budget prior to the June 20 deadline for first of two readings required for adoption.
Wein said he had a few issues to discuss on the budget, but didn’t want to introduce items with only four of the seven Assembly members present.
“From any point of view it’s important to wait till we have a more complete Assembly for discussing and voting purposes,” he said.
Wein said at some point he would like to explore the idea of using Commercial Passenger Excise Tax funds or the Visitor Enhancement Fund to implement a landscaping project for the core visitor area of Sitka.
Also at the meeting, the Assembly held an hour-long executive session with the city’s negotiator in talks that are under way or pending with the city’s unions: the Alaska State Employees Association, the Public Safety Employees Association, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. No motions related to the subject were made when the Assembly returned to open session.
Under Persons to be Heard, former Assembly member Ben Miyasato said he was “very disappointed” the Assembly decided to create a subcommittee that will make recommendations on whether to fill positions in the city government as they come open.
“It has unintended consequences when you approved it,” he said. “Yes, the city is going through difficult fiscal issues, but having a subcommittee and having them approve any hires, that is not the way to go around getting things done in the city. I’m deeply disappointed with this Assembly for even approving that subcommittee.”
