By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Governmental funds related to fisheries enhancement, visitor enhancement, economic development and other items will be up for discussion at the Assembly budget meeting tonight.
“This is our last scheduled budget meeting before the budget ordinances,” Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said. “It looks like the next step is budget ordinances.”
The meeting is 6 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. In-person and remote participation and attendance information is available from the city website at cityofsitka.com.
It’s the last of the series of special meetings on various aspects of the fiscal year 2022 budget. City Finance Director Melissa Haley prepared a PowerPoint for tonight’s meeting.
She said one key decision point is the funding level for Visit Sitka, which is part of the Chamber of Commerce.
Visit Sitka provides visitor services and also markets Sitka to cruise lines, independent and charter visitors, and conventions. It gets $300,000 a year under its present contract with the city, and may request additional funding based on a marketing plan presented to the Assembly.
Most of Visit Sitka’s revenue is from city bed tax collections, which took a hit due to the pandemic in fiscal year 2020, and the current fiscal year. The Visitor Enhancement Fund is expected to finish this fiscal year in the red.
Chamber Executive Director Rachel Roy at a March 23 work session asked for that amount to be $158,600, for a total allocation of $458,600 out of the visitor enhancement fund. That’s down from fiscal year 2021’s funding level of $500,200. Roy explained that the nonprofit is asking for less, in line with a drop in bed tax revenue due to the pandemic.
The city draft budget includes the $458,600 request.
“We’re looking forward to marketing and providing services as tourism resumes,” Roy said today.
Early projections are “bright” for the independent and charter travel sector, and visitors in general.
“People are choosing to make their Sitka visit this summer,” she said, noting the marketing partnership between Visit Sitka and Alaska Airlines for discounted fares into the state through Sunday. Small cruises also are taking place, which bring in hotel guests before and after the cruises.
The Assembly will review the status of other governmental funds, including trust, agency and special revenue funds. Those include the Permanent Fund, debt service fund to cover school bonds, library building fund, the Southeast Alaska Economic Development Fund, Gary Paxton Industrial Park contingency fund, Sitka Community Hospital Dedicated fund, fisheries enhancement fund, and student activities and travel fund, among others.
One of the slides in the PowerPoint is related to the school bond debt service fund. Revenue for this fund is from the 1 percent seasonal sales tax and state-funded debt service reimbursement, both of which are used to cover Sitka’s obligation for school bonds.
The governor cut bond reimbursement by 50 percent in fiscal year 2020, and zeroed out bond reimbursement in the current fiscal year.
The $1.6 million in debt reimbursement the state didn’t cover “is a big expense,” Haley said. “It means we have to keep the seasonal sales tax in place for a lot longer.”
Eisenbeisz said he’s been pleased with the budget process this year, and gave kudos to Haley and her team for presenting information in a clear manner, and answering the Assembly’s questions.
