2 measures will likely be on the Oct. 6 ballot
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TweetThis fall, the Haines Borough ballot will likely ask voters to make decisions about two proposals: a plan to draw $450,000 from the borough’s permanent fund to offset unexpected costs associated with school bond debt and a charter amendment allowing police emergency response outside the townsite.
The July 28 assembly meeting was the deadline for introducing an ordinance to put a measure on the Oct. 6 ballot. The assembly must pass a ballot measure ordinance by its Aug. 25 meeting to ensure it goes before voters.
The assembly approved the permanent fund ballot measure at the end of June and had been scheduled to make a final decision about the policing measure on Tuesday. After discussing the measure, members decided to postpone a final vote until Aug. 25 and schedule the ordinance for two additional public hearings.
Assembly member Brenda Josephson said she believes the extension will allow the assembly to address public confusion about the measure and work on a reimbursement formula associated with the ballot measure that will require a separate change to borough code.
The ballot measure specifies that the townsite fund, which pays for police, will be reimbursed from the general fund for police response outside the townsite. In a memo to the assembly, interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton recommended the reimbursement be formula-based to reduce staff time involved in the reimbursement process.
The assembly referred development of the reimbursement formula to an Aug. 3 finance committee meeting.
In other assembly news, Mayor Jan Hill read a proclamation for “I Love Lucy (Harrell) Day,” an Aug. 1 day of remembrance honoring the work and charitable giving of the local philanthropist, and a proclamation honoring the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990.
The assembly passed an ordinance allowing residents to keep small farm animals for personal use in all residential zones, regardless of lot size, and approved Sarah Roark’s appointment to the planning commission seat vacated by Sylvia Heinz earlier this year. The assembly also revived the solid waste working group, an advisory group initially organized in 2016 to work toward developing a solid waste management plan for the borough.
