Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

During the May 5 Haines Borough Assembly budget discussion, manager Debra Schnabel presented a budget proposal to close the Sheldon Museum to the public for one year and close the public library one month per year, while eliminating four part-time positions there. Several assembly members also would eliminate Chilkat Center funding. No commensurate cuts are proposed to staff at city hall.

To cope with sales tax revenue lost to the coronavirus, it appears a majority of assembly members supports no tax increases and no withdrawals from the borough’s rainy-day account, our $8 million permanent fund. At this point, it appears the budget will be balanced by cuts to facilities that directly serve the public in important ways. The proposed cuts aren’t about balance or prudence. They’re about a philosophy that preserves government power at the expense of facilities that empower residents and enrich their lives.

If you care about the future of borough facilities, phone or email borough assembly members. Tell them that at the very least, cuts to facilities should be matched dollar-for-dollar with cuts to positions at city hall, including the police department. That formula will demonstrate whether leaders genuinely want to reduce the size of government or just want to eliminate programs they don’t value or support politically.

Also, the permanent fund is not “the government’s” money. That money belongs to you. If you want to tap into the fund’s capital to cover a one-time shortfall caused by a worldwide plague, that’s possible with a boroughwide vote.

Tom Morphet