Mayor Stephanie Scott on Tuesday broke a tie vote of the Haines Borough Assembly to adopt an ordinance that removes code language mandating the municipality have a department of economic development and an economic development director. Assembly members Debra Schnabel, Norm Smith and Joanne Waterman also voted in support of eliminating the department from code. “I’ve been here long enough to say that this […]

Members of the board of the Haines Borough’s Dalton Trail Road Maintenance Service Area have an idea for the “Steel Bridge,” the aging, metal and timber span over the Klehini River at 26 Mile – put it over the Tsirku River to access Chilkat Lake. The state Department of Transportation is scheduled to replace the […]

The Haines Borough Assembly is investigating a state-collected municipal motor vehicle registration tax that would help fund local storage and disposal of junk cars, or an annual “junk car clean-up.” The municipality for years has discussed how best to deal with junkers parked around town and abandoned on public property. Its interest sharpened last year when residents […]

The Haines Borough Assembly last week introduced an ordinance that would require a simple majority vote of remaining members to fill assembly vacancies, a move aimed at easing gridlock. The borough’s government affairs and services committee of assembly members Daymond Hoffman, Debra Schnabel and committee chair Steve Vick recommended the change. Last June, the assembly failed to appoint a replacement for a […]

After three years of relative quiet, debate over the fate of old school property on Main Street resumed at the Haines Borough Planning Commission meeting April 19, when commissioners split on a proposal that would classify two lots west of Fourth Avenue for sale “in the near term.” By a 4-3 margin, commissioners voted for a proposal […]

The Haines Borough stands to receive $350,000 more in state revenue sharing funds than projected, a boost that could put a big dent in a projected deficit in the coming year’s budget. Borough manager Mark Earnest has proposed cuts, slight property tax increases and borrowing from reserves to fill what was expected to be a $579,000 hole in the […]

Add another plan to borough planning efforts. In addition to work on a comprehensive plan and a strategic plan, the Haines Borough is embarking on a master plan for facilities. The firm selected to provide professional design services for a proposed community center also will evaluate all Haines Borough facilities, manager Mark Earnest wrote in a report this month. Earnest wrote […]

Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest on Tuesday proposed using increased property taxes, a variety of cuts and reserves to fill a $579,000 hole in the municipality’s $11.3 million budget for the coming year. “This is the starting point. We know there are challenges here. We hope, through this process, to make it work,” Earnest told assembly members […]