The real slush fund in Juneau’s budget

The real “myth” isn’t whether Juneau has a slush fund — it’s pretending it doesn’t. A recent op-ed zeroed in on the city’s restricted reserves, but completely ignored the elephant in the room: $20.4 million in unrestricted reserves, sitting alongside $16.6 million in restricted reserves (FY26 Adopted Budget). As was noted, restricted reserves are locked down for real emergencies and revenue shortfalls. Unrestricted reserves, on the other hand, can be spent on almost anything — and too often get used that way.

Sure, it feels flexible, but it also means the city can bypass careful planning and spend on one-time projects without considering long-term priorities. That’s the problem. Instead of forcing hard choices, these unrestricted dollars become a convenient pot of money for whatever comes up, no matter how loosely tied to the city’s core needs. It acts as a slush fund, eroding fiscal discipline and making it too easy to paper over questionable budget decisions with one-time fixes. That lack of discipline keeps taxes higher than they need to be, contributing to the city’s affordability challenges for residents.

A smarter approach would be to transfer some of that unrestricted money into the restricted reserve, which is designed to cover emergencies and unexpected revenue shortfalls. This helps keep the budget honest, encourages careful planning, and ensures funds are available when they’re truly needed — making the city’s finances fairer and more affordable for everyone.

Angela Rodell

Affordable Juneau Coalition