Lots about this year’s local election to be determined by candidates, Assembly on Monday

Filing deadline for candidate races to be followed by meeting where leaders will act on bond and tax measures for ballot — and consider $50K for election "advocacy"

(City and Borough of Juneau photo)

This story has been corrected to note the seasonal sales tax being considered by the Assembly does not contain exemptions for food and utilities.

Some outcomes of Juneau’s Oct. 7 municipal election will be known by Monday since that is the deadline for candidates to file for Assembly and school board seats. The Assembly is also scheduled to act on proposed ballot measures including two bonds and a seasonal sales tax, plus spending up to $50,000 for "ballot initiative advocacy."

The filing deadline for three Assembly and three Juneau Board of Education seats is 4:30 p.m., and candidates must submit their applications in person at City Hall. All three incumbent Assembly members have filed for reelection, but two current school board members — President Deedie Sorensen and former Vice President Emil Mackey — say they are not running again.

As of Friday no challengers have filed for the Assembly races, according to the clerk’s office. School board incumbent Steve Whitney, who was selected in May to fill out the remaining months of a member who resigned, has filed for reelection. The only other declared candidate is Melissa Cullum, a freelance writer and homeschool parent who sought the open seat earlier this year.

The Assembly meeting that begins at 7 p.m. — at Centennial Hall, rather than City Hall, due to ongoing sound-quality problems — is scheduled to take public testimony on several election-related items before taking action that may include placing them on the ballot. The proposed ballot measures include:

• Replacing Juneau’s 5% sales tax with a seasonal sales tax of 7.5% between April 1 and Sept. 30, and 3.5% between Oct. 1 and March 31. The seasonal rates include a temporary tax of 1% voters have renewed for decades, while a permanent 1% sales tax and temporary 3% tax also renewed many times would be repealed.

• A $10.735 million bond for school district projects including "reroofing projects at several schools,

security and safety upgrades districtwide, boiler room renovation and upgrades at several

schools, and playground site preparation at Dzantik’i Heeni school."

• An $8 million bond for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements "including, but not limited to, work at the Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant."

Controversy involving the measures — especially the seasonal sales tax — is likely since the Assembly increased property taxes for the current fiscal year and utility rates for each of the next five years when passing the current year’s budget. Those and other past actions are being cited by a citizens’ group that has placed two measures on the ballot — one capping property taxes at nine mills rather than the current limit of 12 (excluding debt service), the other exempting utilities and essential food items from the city’s sales tax.

Assembly and city administrative leaders say those measures could result in up to $12 million in lost tax revenue annually. As a result, the city announced two weeks ago it is holding back 60% of its grant funding for organizations and individuals this year pending the outcome of the election.

City leaders also say the seasonal sales tax will result in more total revenue — primarily from summer tourists — which could cover the cost of exempting utilities and food from sales tax. However, clauses to implement those exemptions have been crossed out from the proposed ordinance submitted to the Assembly for tonight’s meeting.

Monday’s agenda also includes a resolution to spend up to $50,000 for "ballot advocacy" by the city manager’s office.

"The Assembly has determined that due to the specialized nature of the CBJ budget and financial considerations, it will be important for the Assembly and City staff to robustly communicate with voters and provide up-to-date financial projections," the resolution states.

The resolution declares state law allows "nonpartisan information about a ballot proposition" to be provided by a municipality if funds are specifically approved for that purpose.

City leaders took similar action last year for the "Ship-Free Saturday" ballot proposition, including publishing a “neutral and factual” FAQ. About half of the three-page document emphasized efforts the city was making to limit cruise industry impacts, and the remainder addressed economic impacts of cruise tourism and potential legal issues if the measure passed.

Assembly members are also scheduled to consider an ordinance implementing ranked-choice voting — but starting in 2026 rather than during this year’s election. Alaska has used ranked choice voting, along with open-party primaries where the top four candidates advance to the general election, since 2024. Voters last year narrowly rejected a ballot measure to repeal ranked-choice voting.

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