Success of HESCO barriers show the reason to vote no on Proposition 1
- Kate Troll
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
By Kate Troll
Even though there was some leakage, we all know that there would have been hundreds of more homes devastated by the last glacier outburst, had CBJ not invested $3.5 million in installing 2.5 miles of HESCO barriers in the Valley. This prudent, responsive action would not have been possible if the ballot propositions now being pushed by a group called Affordable Juneau were in effect.
The Affordable Juneau signs around town suggest that in order to make Juneau affordable, voters should vote yes on Proposition 1 (mill rate cap) and Proposition 2 (sales tax exemption). According to the Voter Information Guide, Proposition 1 would result in a revenue reduction of about $1 million and Proposition 2 without a positive vote on Proposition 3 (seasonal sales tax) would reduce revenues by $9 to $11 million. Together these two “yes” votes would result in a budgetary loss of $10 to $11 million. I know from my time on the Assembly that this level of reduction could cripple the city’s ability to meet basic needs like education, let alone respond to a flood emergency that now appears to be an annual event.
To impose such drastic cuts and measures that would hamstring the Assembly’s ability to respond, one would think that the mill rate must be rising year after year. Au contraire. Since 2005 when the mill rate was 12, the mill rate has been declining and fairly stable at about 10.5. The current mill rate of 10.24 is lower now than it was in 2015. For perspective, Juneau's current mill rate is 34% lower than Anchorage and 32% lower than the Mat-Su Borough.
It seems that Proposition 1 is a solution looking for a problem. In fact, you could say that Proposition 1 is the wrong kind of barrier; it creates an unnecessary obstacle for CBJ’s ability to respond to emergencies like glacial outbursts and unexpected events like the pandemic.
While Proposition 1 is not a solution, there still are the real problems of affordable housing and childcare. Fortunately, the current Assembly, like the Assembly I served on, have been consistently chipping away at these problems. One of the first thing done was to systematically upzone for higher density in appropriate areas. The current Assembly recently made changes to the land use code to make housing development easier. In addition, there are housing assistance programs for accessory apartments, manufactured homes and several tax abatement programs for developers. To learn more about these programs as well as other initiatives visit https://juneau.org/community-development/grants and you’ll see that CBJ has been active on addressing affordable housing. And because the challenge still remains, they will undoubtedly do more.
On childcare, CBJ provides grants directly to full-time licensed childcare operators, paying $600/month per full-time staffer to make the business of operating a childcare facility fiscally viable in Juneau. Additionally, through a partnership with Association for Education of Young Children (AYEC), CBJ provides monthly stipends to childcare providers as a way to offset the cost to families most in need.
Just like funding HESCO barriers, CBJ is actively addressing the needs of our community and the last thing they need is the harmful barrier of Proposition 1. If you’re thankful that the HESCO barriers worked and appreciate the efforts CBJ is taking to address affordable housing and childcare, then join me in voting no on Proposition 1.
• Kate Troll, a longtime Alaskan, has more than 25 years of experience in coastal management, fisheries and energy policy and is a former executive director for United Fishermen of Alaska and the Alaska Conservation Voters. She’s been elected to local office twice, written two books and resides in Juneau.
