The borough manager’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, released Tuesday, projects revenue and spending largely in line with last year. That includes the borough’s contribution to Haines Borough public schools, which sees a slight bump up to $2,295,000, from $2,025,000 the previous year.
While that is a raise, it’s not the one the district wanted. The $270,000 increase projected in this year’s budget is only half of what superintendent Roy Getchell requested from the assembly in February. That requested $540,000 increase would represent funding to the cap – the maximum amount allowed by statute for the borough to give to the schools.
Interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton said she couldn’t accommodate such a drastic increase in just one year, and hopes to get closer to the requested amount next year. By then, the borough will no longer be making payments on the 2005 school construction bonds which could free up funding, though Fullerton said she can’t project budgeting that is still a year in the future. This year’s payment on that bond was $350,370. In addition, according to Fullerton’s budget transmittal letter, the district will likely receive an additional $480,000 in state funding, which would get it closer to its desired funding level.
That state funding, however, is not guaranteed. Getchell told the borough assembly in February that the district won’t know a final dollar amount until summer. Part of that uncertainty is a bill to increase per-student funding, which awaits full passage at the state house. Efforts in recent years to significantly increase per-student funding have been hard to pass, and the state has instead been closing school funding gaps with one-time allocations. Those single-year funding boosts have gone out five of the last seven years, but no decision has been made regarding this year. Without a per-student increase or a one-time allocation, Getchell said the district could face an $880,000 budget shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year.
Getchell’s February presentation chalked the deficit up primarily to the stagnant per-student funding numbers. According to the Alaska Council of School Administration, the state’s per-student funding has actually decreased 26% since 2011 if adjusted for inflation. The school also is facing problems with staff recruitment and retention, which Getchell said could be most simply addressed by bringing salaries up to levels competitive with other states.
Outside of schools, the new budget builds in a borough-wide mill rate increase of 2% and townsite mill rate increase of 11%. Part of this townsite increase is attributed to a new policy discontinuing transfers from the general fund to pay for emergency police response out the road.
Areawide property tax revenue is projected to dip in the wake of last year’s amendment to double the per person senior/disabled veteran property tax exemption. According to Fullerton, the new exemptions total roughly $300,000.
In total, the borough projects to take in $46,292,351 in the upcoming fiscal year and spend $49,311,413. The borough’s permanent fund is projected to reach $10,449,759 by summer 2026 – though any withdrawals from the principal must be approved by voters.
Other interesting, but unfinalized notes from Fullerton’s transmittal letter included possible fire/ambulance “reorganization,” and Haines professional sports, of sorts.
On the ambulance front, the borough is currently in the application period for a new, full-time fire chief with an advertised pay rate of $85,000 to $100,000 per year. That’s a change from the current statute, which establishes the chief position on a volunteer basis, elected by the department. This could apparently bring further waves of changes:
“It is anticipated that the Fire Chief will restructure the fire/ambulance budgets including implementing a fee charged for the ambulance (ambulance fees may have a zero balance billing policy which would reduce the impact to uninsured Haines Borough residents),” Fullerton wrote.
As for sports, Fullerton says the borough has been approached to sponsor the Freeride World Tour for heliskiing. That issue will be on the docket for the upcoming year.
Assembly committees will meet for the next few months to consider the proposed budget, beginning on April 9 with a finance committee meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Two Assembly Committee-of-the-Whole meetings have been scheduled to discuss the budget:
- Thursday April 24, 5:30 p.m. – Areawide General Fund
- Thursday May 1, 5:30 p.m. – Townsite Service Area