Decision time arrives for Assembly on what to cut and keep in the budget

Finance Committee meetings this Wednesday and next will be where near-final decisions are expected on cuts to pools, museum, Eaglecrest, other facilities

Angie Flick, left, finance director for the City and Borough of Juneau, talks with Assembly Member Christine Woll during an Assembly Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

A lot of the key yes-or-no decisions on next year’s city budget are going to be made during the next two Wednesday nights by the Juneau Assembly.

That means, for instance, Assembly members may decide Wednesday on which of two public pools to "mothball," and then decide a week later whether to actually include the closure of the pool in the final draft budget that will be subject to public comment and a final vote next month. Assembly members have said for months painful cuts are likely due to tax cuts passed by voters last fall projected to cost the city $12 million in revenue.

The Finance Committee meetings during the next two Wednesdays are intended to select and vote on the major adjustments to the budget as it stands now, said Christine Woll, the committee’s chair, presenting the schedule to fellow Assembly members during last week's committee meeting.

"The idea would be on (May) 20th we are trying to get five votes for what that final budget looks like," Christine Woll, chair of the Assembly’s Finance Committee, told the rest of the Assembly members during a committee meeting last Wednesday. "And then the 13th would be basically selecting the items that we would be discussing on the 20th."

The Assembly is required to pass its budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 by June 15. A final public input session on the budget is scheduled June 8. The city’s total proposed budget is about $550 million, of which roughy $140 million is for municipal government functions. The rest includes city-owned entities like Bartlett Regional Hospital and Juneau International Airport, as well as funding to support the school district and capital improvement projects.

Among the key items on this Wednesday’s agenda is a list of more than 40 potential municipal government service reductions including the closure of a pool, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Mount Jumbo gym building, Dimond Park Field House and many other facilities that have prompted an intense public response from users.

Also on the agenda is Eaglecrest Ski Area, with potential options ranging from a $930,000 allocation resort officials say would be "not viable" for operation next year to the nearly $3.1 million requested by Eaglecrest’s board of directors. That wide range is due to a major shakeup of the ski area’s plans due to the Assembly moving to cancel a long-planned gondola, which will mean both a loan repayment of more than $12 million to Goldbelt Inc. as well as the lost promise of year-round mass tourism revenue starting in 2028.

Advice to Eaglecrest’s leaders and supporters of the ski area about the upcoming meeting was offered during a meeting of the ski area’s board last Thursday by Neil Steininger, the Assembly’s liaison to the board. He said public testimony isn’t taken at Finance Committee meetings, but people can send written comments beforehand by email to Assembly members.

"We do have a full Assembly meeting on the 18th and there will be public comment at that meeting," he added. "There's both the opportunity to give public comment for non-agenda items, which is where, if you're wanting to give public comment on the Eaglecrest budget for next year, that would be the appropriate place. If you want to comment about the gondola project, that will actually be an agenda item at that meeting."

A preview of the yea-or-nay process will look like occurred during last week’s Finance Committee meeting, when members made decisions on a range of items, including what to do with about $16 million of proposed projects funded at least partially with Marine Passenger Fees.

Assembly members voted down some large suggested changes, such as Mayor Beth Weldon’s proposed removal of $3.5 million in fees for a waterfront shelter with restrooms that was cited as a high priority by city administrators.

"Number one, I don't think we're quite ready for it," she said. "I still think we're trying to look at that plaza and see what we're going to do with that plaza."

Also, Weldon cited the need to make cuts in order to fund her subsequent request for $360,000 in passenger fees for security, maintenance and restroom facilities for the AJ and Franklin docks. The Assembly by a 3-5 vote rejected the proposal to omit funding for the shelter and restroom, and then voted 5-3 to approve her funding request for the two docks by redirecting some of fees intended for Juneau Seawalk upgrades.

Assembly members were also briefed on specific details about proposed savings such as closing the city museum and leasing out the Douglas Fire Station, in advance of decisions that will be made during the next two meetings.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.