Mt. Jumbo closed, city museum gets steep cut, Douglas fire station stays open as Assembly nears final budget

Mark Sabbatini
May 22
5 min read

Residents can still weigh in on changes, Assembly will consider sales tax and other revenue measures that could prevent some cuts, before final scheduled vote June 8

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Significantly reducing operations at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum rather than closing it got a go-ahead from Juneau Assembly members Wednesday night, an approach taken with some of the other cuts on a long list Wednesday night as they moved towards crafting a final budget for the coming fiscal year.

Not spared closure was the Mount Jumbo Gym, with the Assembly Finance Committee voting to sell the former school. The committee did avoid or minimize cuts to some items that got strong pushback, including opting not to lease out the Douglas Fire Station after concerns were raised about emergency services on the island if bridge access from downtown Juneau was unavailable.

City leaders emphasized the budget approved by the committee on Wednesday for the fiscal year that starts July 1 isn’t final since the full Assembly must take public testimony and then vote on the spending plan, both of which are scheduled June 8. The Assembly is required to pass the budget by June 15.

Also, some members noted there are proposed revenue measures — such as raising or lifting a cap that imposes sales tax only on the first $15,000 of a purchase — that could offset some or all of the reductions made so far.

"I will be making a case on June 8 that we do something different on the revenue side so that we can reverse all of the hard decisions that we're going to make tonight," said Christine Woll, chair of the finance committee, in remarks before Assembly members began going through the list.

A city memo to Assembly members states removing the cap could generate up to $6.75 million during the coming fiscal year and up to $9 million the following year. But concerns have been expressed it could impact people making big-ticket purchases, as well as industrial activity such as the proposed New Amalga Gold Project mine north of Juneau.

Assembly members and city administrators are looking to plug a $16 million gap in a draft budget of $550 million, of which roughly $140 million is for municipal government functions. Most of the deficit is due to two tax-cut measures passed by voters last fall.

Wednesday night’s five-and-a-half-hour meeting comes near the end of a budget-crafting process that started in earnest last December.

City Finance Director Angie Flick, at the start of Wednesday’s meeting, said the draft budget submitted by City Manager Katie Koester already contained $3.9 million in various cuts to items such as staff, services, supplies, and training, and about $2.4 million in new revenue, primarily by increasing user fees.

The draft budget called for Assembly members to make $2 million in cuts to programs and services — meaning items such as the museum and other recreational/cultural offerings, grants to community organizations, and programs such as the Affordable Housing Fund. Members were also asked to consider a list of possible new revenue measures, many dealing with a multitude of tax exemptions and policies.

Among the contentious items of discussion was the city museum and the $562,300 proposed for it in the draft budget. Alternatives presented to Assembly members included a $261,500 cut that would reduce staff and operations, and a $479,300 cut that would close the museum and divest its collection.

Mayor Beth Weldon proposed a different option of a $336,500 cut that would result in "just the curator keeping track of the collection and no support staff at all" — meaning the facility and collection would be closed, but maintained with the possibility of reopening if the city’s financial situation improves.

Weldon noted public testimony at meetings and other input in recent months has focused more on other facilities and programs.

"After the public outpouring to do all the recreation facilities these are just one of those tough decisions we're going to have to make," she said. "It's a big ticket item and that's why I'm making this."

Among the arguments of Assembly members opposing such a cut — in addition to the historical value of its presence and collection — was noting it is a notable tourism attraction downtown and thus earns revenue. Practical difficulties of an indefinite closure were also raised by Assembly Member Neil Steininger, who said he at one point favored a larger cut to the museum, but ultimately favored enough funding to keep it open.

"I would contend this is not an area where it would necessarily be easier to undo this situation because it does involve removing staff members," he said, "and so once you've done that it's a lot harder to bring somebody back to something that doesn't feel like a very secure job anymore."

Weldon’s proposal failed by a 4-5 vote, with Woll, Ella Adkison and Alicia Hughes-Skandijs joining the mayor in voting yes. Steininger, Deputy Mayor Greg Smith, Maureen Hall, Paul Kelly and Nano Brooks opposed the cut.

Further debate ultimately resulted in the Assembly approving a $261,000 cut to the museum by a 7-2 vote, with Hall and Kelly casting the dissenting votes. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr told Assembly members the reduction will mean a drastic cut in the museum’s operating hours and laying off two employees.

Another large cut that occurred after considerable discussion was a $400,000 reduction for Travel Juneau, a nonprofit that provides various visitor-oriented services and marketing, approved after Assembly members voted against a $700,000 cut proposed by Weldon.

The $400,000 cut is about 30% of the organization’s budget. CEO and President Liz Perry, when asked by Assembly members to explain the impacts of each of the proposed cuts, said going much beyond the lesser cut is "going to set Travel Juneau and Juneau itself behind" for a year in the market cycle.

"It will take us completely out of the visitor industry marketplace, no trade shows, no association dues, which will lock us out of marketing," she said.

Hughes-Skandijs, among the four Assembly members voting in favor of the larger cut, noted tourism was among the bottom-ranking priorities in a budget survey of Juneau residents.

The Assembly also approved a $300,000 cut to the Juneau Economic Development Council, after voting down a larger $400,000 cut and a smaller $132,000 reduction — the latter being 30% of the amount in the draft budget.

Unanimously approved with little discussion was closing the Mount Jumbo building and moving the city’s facilities maintenance operations there to the Marie Drake Building. The move is projected to save only $60,000 in the coming year’s budget, but city administrators say $2.5 million in revenue from selling the building may result in future years.

Leasing out the Douglas Fire Station, resulting in a projected $108,000 savings for the coming year, was rejected by a 2-7 vote after Capital City Fire/Rescue Chief Thomas Hatley told Assembly members that would mean responses to incidents on the island would have to come from downtown.

Assembly members also rejected cuts to the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, the Affordable Housing Fund, and training and travel for city employees (which Flick noted has already been reduced in the city manager’s draft budget).

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