Petitions for 1% seasonal sales tax, restoring property tax cap to 12 mills certified for signature gathering

Supporters of both measures hoping to offset some tax cuts approved last year by voters that have city leaders looking at closing or reducing recreational and other services

Vendors offer day tours to passengers arriving on the first cruise ship of the season to Juneau on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Two petitions seeking to offset some of the tax cuts passed last year by voters have been certified for signature gathering for a possible spot on this fall’s municipal election ballot.

Signatures are already being gathered for one petition that seeks to impose a seasonal sales tax of 1% between April 1 and Sept. 30, in addition to Juneau’s sales tax that currently is 5%. The second petition, which seeks to restore the property tax cap to 12 mills after voters last year lowered it to nine mills, is set to begin signature gathering May 19.

Backers of both measures will have 30 days to gather at least 2,566 valid signatures, representing one-fourth of the certified ballots cast in last year’s municipal election.

Certification of the petitions comes as the Juneau Assembly weighs closing or reducing funding for a range of city facilities and services — mostly recreational and cultural — to make up for an estimated $12 million in lost revenue from last year’s measures. In addition to lowering the mill rate, voters also exempted non-prepared food and utilities from sales taxes.

Supporters of the tax cut measures said their intent was to help residents cope with Juneau's high living costs and rein in what they considered to be irresponsible Assembly spending decisions.

A short title of "1% Seasonal Sales Tax" was suggested by Juneau City Attorney Emily Wright in a legal review of that petition application submitted by five residents, with Eaglecrest Ski Area employee Michael Cole listed as the lead petitioner. The petitioners state their intent is to "help fund indoor and outdoor recreation in Juneau," which Wright includes in her suggested "impartial summary" for the petition being circulated.

This initiative petition proposes to amend the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Code 69.05.020 to implement a new permanent seasonal sales tax, effective April 1 through September 30 each year," the approved language states. "The revenue from this tax is intended to help fund both indoor and outdoor recreation within the City and Borough of Juneau."

Brock Tabor, another of the petitioners, said Wednesday the assessment of backers is the 1% tax will collect $3.8 million from residents and $4.2 million from visitors during the six months it is in effect.

Voters last fall rejected a proposed seasonal sales tax — meant to offset the impacts of the tax cuts that did pass — that would set a total rate of 3% from October-March and 7.5% from April-September. Tabor said the hope is voters will be willing to support a smaller summer-season increase than the previous proposal, although so far he’s getting mixed reactions while gathering signatures.

"I either get ‘Yes, I'm all in favor, I'm all in, I want to see recreation get funded’ — so all right, great, you understand this," he said. "Then I get the other folks who are like, ‘I'm pissed off at the city. I'm pissed off at how our taxes have been spent to date and I don't want you to take a single dollar from me. And that's where the conversation ends. It's like they don't even want to entertain any conversation. And then occasionally I get folks who are like, ‘Huh, let me think about that.’ And that's like definitely the minority of the minority."

The deadline to turn in signatures on that petition is 4:30 p.m. June 5, according to the city clerk’s office.

The reduction in the mill rate passed narrowly last year by a vote of 5,163 to 5,006. The cap of nine mills excludes debt service, so the practical impact in the proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 is a 0.16 reduction to the current rate of 10.08 mills. The total proposed rate is 9.92 mills, with the 0.92 mills of debt service also being 0.16 lower than the current rate of 1.08, for a total reduction of 0.32 mills.

“It’s become clear that we’ve cut too much, too fast and there are now services we love and use that are on the chopping block,” said Pat Race, one of the five petitioners, said in a prepared statement when the petition was submitted to the city clerk’s office. “I think this will be a referendum on quality-of-life services that many residents don’t want to lose.”

While the certification letter for that petition was issued May 12 by the city clerk’s office, the May 19 date to start gathering signatures "was mutually agreed upon by the Petitioners' Committee and Clerk's Office staff," according to a letter from the clerk’s office. Supporters will have until 4:30 p.m. June 17 to turn in their signatures.

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