By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly at tonight’s special budget meeting will discuss rate increases in enterprise funds, and a proposal to contribute $50,000 toward the Hix’i Saani (Little Houses) Community capital project, among other items.
The special meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Kevin Mosher, deputy mayor, will preside in the absence of Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz, who is attending the Alaska Municipal League winter legislative conference in Juneau. Administrator John Leach is at the meeting also.
One of the agenda items for tonight is “enterprise funds,” such as those for electricity, water, solid waste and waste water utilities, which are supported by user fees paid by ratepayers. There also will be “discussion/direction of the FY2024 municipal budget, if needed, as it relates to the general fund and other funds.”
Special meetings, like regular meetings, are open to the public and include periods for comment from the public.
The draft general fund budget is expected to be completed by Friday afternoon. The entire budget is expected to be completed by the end of March and presented for final approval by the Assembly at two meetings in May.
Under considerations tonight are the user fees for city services, some of which are below the rate of inflation and others slightly above. The current rate of inflation for Alaska is 5.4 percent, which is down from last year’s rate.
Proposed rate increases are 3 percent for electricity, 6 percent for water, 8.5 percent for wastewater, 6.75 percent for solid waste, and 7.3 percent on boat moorage in the harbors. Finance Director Melissa Haley said she will not ask for feedback on the harbor rates at this time, since it needs to go to the Port and Harbors Commission for a recommendation.
The Assembly will see Power Point slides on the financial challenges faced by all the funds supported by ratepayers, including inflation, capital needs, potential for grant funding, mandated additions to infrastructure and projects financed with debt versus working capital.
“Today we are seeking guidance on rates to move forward with development of the revenue side of the enterprise fund budget,” one of the slides says.
Assembly member Crystal Duncan is proposing two additional expenditures for the general fund for fiscal year 2024, one of $50,000 to support a housing project for the homeless and the other to designate $20,000 for city staff participation in the “Race, Equity, and Leadership Institute.”
On the $50,000 proposed for the Hix’i Saani (Little Houses) Community capital project to shelter homeless men Duncan wrote:
“Currently, an equity issue exists within the framework of emergency services available to those in need of housing. SAFV provides an immensely important service to a number of women in need of shelter. However, for obvious reasons, men aren’t allowed into this shelter. As such, half of the population of Sitka lacks equitable recourse in the face of housing insecurity.
“This project will provide that essential resource to those who lack or have a limited ability to obtain the external and/or internal means of securing and maintaining the basic human right of safe, stable, and adequate housing. Additional emergency housing will be provided for those in need of immediate, temporary shelter.”
Duncan says the $20,000 for the race, equity and leadership project for city staff includes two in-person summits.
She explained in her memo to the Assembly that she is interested in “identifying ways to foster relationships with underrepresented groups/populations in the community and implement findings to improve service delivery to these groups.
“The primary questions that will be explored with each cohort is, What is holding your city back from achieving racial equity? What challenges and opportunities related to racial equity does your city want to solve? What support do you have from your community to undertake this work? Having a better understanding of this, as well as hearing from organizations that can speak to best practice, the CBS will be in a better position to experience growth in participation by our diverse community. It starts at the top of an organization.”
Mosher said he will ask for motions on Duncan’s proposals.
