By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider an ordinance intended to provide relief to residents on their utility bills.
Only two items are on the agenda, plus opportunities for “persons to be heard.”
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. with only limited staff in attendance at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The meeting is open, but the public is encouraged to listen and watch through the cityofsitka.org website. A state mandate limits gatherings to 10 people, who are to observe the recommended six feet social distancing.
Assembly members will attend the meeting remotely, through the Zoom program.
The ordinance up on introduction would delay the start of the summertime seasonal electric rate. The wintertime rate of 12 cents per kwh runs from the first billing cycle in November through the first billing cycle in April, then goes to 19 cents in May.
The proposed ordinance would move the start date of the higher rates to the first billing cycle in July.
The ordinance is co-sponsored by Thor Christianson and Kevin Knox, who said the idea is at least worth discussing in order to provide relief to Sitkans experiencing hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic and government mandates.
The purpose section of the ordinance attributes the need for the change to the effects of COVID-19, both in terms of decreasing income, and increased need for more electricity:
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related governmental mandates, many residents are experiencing a decrease in income due to layoff, reduced work hours, or reduced work opportunities. Additionally, many residents are experiencing unexpected increases in electrical usage due to hunkering down and sheltering in place, including children staying home due to school closures.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to fly,” Christianson said, adding that he hadn’t yet decided whether he would vote for it. “A lot of people don’t have as much money as they thought they would. This is a way for the Assembly to ease the pain.”
Christianson said he is interested in how such a change would hurt the bottom line in the electric fund, but also hopes the outlay could qualify for federal COVID relief.
“It’s a dialog we need to have,” Knox said, “and figure out if it’s doable. We’re looking for ways to help ease the burden on people right now.”
He, too, said he was interested in comments from fellow Assembly members and the analysis of the plan by the city finance department.
The other agenda item is a review of past Assembly decisions affecting the enterprise and internal service fund budgets.
The finance staff is also working on how the general fund might be affected by the virus, but that’s scheduled to be taken up at the next special meeting on the budget, April 9.
City staff and the Assembly are sticking to the schedule in drafting the budget for fiscal year 2020-21, which starts July 1.
Some Assembly members have commented that they want to review decisions they have already made on the budget, taking into account the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, which weren’t considered when those decisions were made.
