Tax propositions a dividing line for incumbents, lone challenger at Assembly candidate forum
- Mark Sabbatini
- Sep 4
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 12
Three members seeking reelection favor seasonal sales tax and oppose lower mill rate cap; lone challenger says the opposite
This story has been corrected to state the three incumbent Assembly candidates support, rather than oppose, a ballot measure exempting food and utilities from sales taxes, and to correctly state the amounts of the seasonal sales tax.
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Three Juneau Assembly members seeking reelection endorsed a seasonal sales tax and opposed a lower mill rate cap, while the lone challenger in this year’s election took the opposite stance, during a candidate forum Thursday morning.
The forum hosted by the Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club comes at the beginning of a series of debates featuring Assembly and Juneau Board of Education candidates, plus three ballot measures on the tax-related proposals, leading up to the Oct. 7 municipal election.
Among the upcoming forums are one for all candidates at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Pottery Jungle and an Assembly forum at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Douglas Public Library.
While only one Assembly race is competitive, all of the candidates at Thursday morning’s forum took strong stances on the tax propositions that will significantly shape the city’s short- and long-term financial situation.
Propositions setting a property tax cap of nine mills instead of 12, and exempting utilities and essential food from the city’s 5% sales tax were placed on the ballot via voter petitions circulated by the Affordable Juneau Coalition. A key concern expressed by incumbents is the measures will cost the city up to $12 million a year in revenue, so significant cuts would be needed to a municipal government operating budget that is roughly $140 million this year.
"I've asked repeatedly: tell us what you want to cut, tell us what service," said Assembly Member Wade Bryson, who is seeking his third term in the only competitive race. "And they say, ‘Well, just do reductions.’ But what it would really mean is which jobs are we firing? Which jobs are we not fulfilling or going to rehire for? Which projects are not going to get made? Which streets are not going to get paved? Which library are we going to close? Are we not going to fund Eaglecrest or the downtown pool?"
Despite that concern, Bryson said he plans to vote in favor of the sales tax exemption because he also supports a seasonal sales tax proposal that will make up for the lost revenue. The Assembly candidates running unopposed, Ella Adkison and Greg Smith, also said they would vote against the mill rate cap while supporting the sales tax exemption and seasonal sales tax measures.
The Assembly in July unanimously approved placing the seasonal sales tax on the ballot, which would set a rate of 7.5% between April 1 and Sept. 30 to maximize revenue from tourists, and 3% between Oct. 1 and March 31. Nano Brooks, who in his third consecutive year as a candidate is challenging Bryson, said those seasonal rates mean residents will pay a higher overall tax rate during the year compared to the current 5%.
"After we've had very high (property tax) assessments over the last few years…and then the increase in utility rates, amongst many other things, adding a higher sales tax on average just isn't what the people need, or deserve, or can even handle right now," he said.
Brooks, as in his previous campaigns, is proposing the city solve its revenue dilemma by conducting "land lotteries" for thousands of acres of undeveloped land where people purchasing tickets for, say $25, would get a chance to own a parcel that could be developed.
"If you open it up on a national level each acre could get a million applications," he said. "So the potential to make money — you can be making $25 million a month, potentially billions of dollars sitting on the table."
Bryson said that while he supports expanded development currently taking place in some parts of town, the regulatory requirements of making public land available are more complex than what the lottery process proposed by Brooks suggests. Adkison and Smith also expressed reservations about the lottery without ruling it out entirely.
"I don't know how many of you have the capacity and skills to say, ‘Oh, I'm going to take a totally undeveloped lot, deal with all the work that goes into it,’" he said. "I'm curious about the demand for what that would be."
Adkison, while stating the city should be making more land available for development, said she’s concerned companies could exploit the lottery to obtain land for less than the city would get in a bidding process. Also, she said without the city providing infrastructure such as roads and utilities it’s unlikely such properties would be used for purposes such as affordable housing.
Other questions during the hour-long forum included preferred solutions for the annual glacial outburst floods threatening homes in the Mendenhall Valley, homelessness and a lack of affordable housing, what efforts the city should be making to homeport the U.S. Coast Guard’s Storis icebreaker during the coming years, and if a plan to relocate City Hall from its current aging building to a newer office building should proceed.
In addition to the Assembly races and ballot propositions, four candidates are seeking three school board seats.
The last day to register to vote for the election is Sept. 7. Ballots will be mailed to eligible registered voters and ballot dropboxes will be open on Sept. 19. In-person voting will begin Sept. 22 at City Hall and the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.
CANDIDATE/BALLOT PROPOSITION FORUMS FOR OCT. 7 MUNICIPAL ELECTION
(May be updated to reflect schedule changes or additional events)
Thursday, Sept. 4
• 7 a.m.: Assembly candidates, hosted by the Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club. At T.K. Maguires, 375 Whittier St.
• 6 p.m.: Assembly and school board candidates, hosted by the Downtown Business Association. At The Pottery Jungle, 223 Seward St.
Sunday, Sept. 7
• 1 p.m.: Assembly candidates, focus on Douglas Island issues. At the Douglas Public Library, 1016 3rd St. in Douglas.
Thursday, Sept. 11
• 7 a.m.: School board candidates, hosted by the Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club. At T.K. Maguires, 375 Whittier St.
Thursday, Sept. 18
• 7 a.m.: Ballot propositions, hosted by the Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club. At T.K. Maguires, 375 Whittier St.
Friday, Sept. 19
• 7 p.m.: Assembly and school board candidates, plus ballot propositions, hosted by the League of Women Voters. At the KTOO studios, 360 Egan Drive.
Thursday, Sept. 25
• Noon: School board candidates, hosted by the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce. At the Juneau Moose Family Center, 8335 Airport Blvd.
Thursday, Oct. 2
• Noon: Assembly candidates, hosted by the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce. At the Juneau Moose Family Center, 8335 Airport Blvd.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
