The Haines Borough Administration Building, March 3, 2025. (Will Steinfeld/Chilkat Valley News)

Proposed state legislation could give borough assemblies more power to exempt specific property from taxes; lawmakers and the public disagree on how that power should be used. 

Under current state law, when municipalities like Haines implement property tax exemptions, it must be from a menu of pre-approved exemptions in state statute.

House Bill 291, introduced last month by Anchorage Republican Julie Coulombe,…

Will Steinfeld is a documentary photographer and reporter in Southeast Alaska, formerly in New England.