Editorial
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TweetBefore we go any further in discussions of the Haines Animal Rescue Kennel, Senior Center or Chilkat Valley Preschool or get into the proposed or actual cuts by the State of Alaska, let’s agree to stop telling this lie: “There is no money.”
The truth is, there’s plenty of money. The Haines Borough has an $8 million savings account called a “permanent fund.” In addition, the borough holds an amount in surplus that combined with the permanent fund was estimated last year to total $15 million.
The Haines Borough School District for years has carried a $500,000 fund balance.
The municipality has taxing authority and can increase its sales tax or property tax rates to raise money. Unlike individuals, the borough also can establish new fees or levies to help pay its bills. Proof of the borough’s surplus is evidenced in tens of thousands of dollars spent on studies of helicopter noise and the police department.
The State of Alaska’s piggy bank, including the state permanent fund and other savings, holds about $60 billion. The state has so much money it recently sent residents $1.3 billion in permanent fund dividend checks, a bit odd considering it also recently closed the local forestry office, slashed ferry service, and curtailed snowplowing.
The State of Alaska is rich beyond the dreams of every other state in the union and the borough’s not doing bad, either. Politicians would like you to think government is poor because that keeps you from nosing around in those big piles of dough.
Don’t be fooled. We’re not vagrants, scrounging for nickels. We’re more like those crazy millionaire spinsters you hear about in New York City, eating cat food in a cold apartments while sleeping on mattresses stuffed with hundred dollar bills.
Kudos to the Haines Borough for Main Street’s new snowflakes. They’re a welcome addition, attractively brightening our downtown during the holiday and winter months.
- Tom Morphet
