The Haines Borough Assembly on Wednesday approved 5-1 the resignation of manager Mark Earnest. Member Norm Smith, a longtime Earnest critic, opposed the motion without comment. “I truly want to spend more time with my wife and son. I’ve been missing a good part of his development and maturity and it’s becoming very important to me now,” Earnest said […]
Search results
Posted inNews
Lapp seeks meeting time limits
Haines Borough Assembly member Jerry Lapp wants to outlaw long meetings. Lapp introduced an ordinance last week that, if passed, would end regular and special assembly meetings at 9:45 p.m. If the assembly wanted to allow the meeting to carry on into the night, four members would have to vote to continue. Mayor Stephanie Scott said she has no […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly approves pay hikes
The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved raises and benefits for employees that will cost, on average, at least an additional $165,000 annually during the next three years. The assembly unanimously approved the contract negotiated by workers’ union Local 71 and a negotiating team of borough leaders. The borough’s negotiating team included chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart, mayor Stephanie […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly to consider raises Tuesday
Where an extra $151,000 for borough employee wages and benefits will come from is a concern for some assembly members, though Haines Borough manager Mark Earnest said the municipality would be able to sustain the increases if the assembly approves a recently renegotiated union contract Tuesday. The assembly will decide Tuesday whether to approve a package of raises and health […]
Posted inNews
Assembly retains parking rules
The Haines Borough Planning Commission will have to go back to the drawing board to address parking requirements, as the assembly on June 25 struck down an ordinance endorsed by the commission to relax the rules. The ordinance would have allowed commercial business developers to allow adjacent, on-street parking to count toward parking space requirements with the permission […]
Posted inElections, News
Borough adopts roster-style ballot
Elections for positions on the Haines Borough Assembly and school board will no longer pit candidate vs. candidate for specific seats. Mayor Stephanie Scott broke a 3-3 tie Tuesday to establish a roster-style ballot, eliminating the current system in which candidates vie for designated, individual seats. Assembly members Debra Schnabel, Joanne Waterman and Norm Smith supported the change; Dave Berry, Steve Vick and Jerry Lapp were opposed. “This system simply […]
Posted inNews, Elections
Election ballot likely to change
The push to change local election procedures continues with the Haines Borough Assembly still split down the middle on whether to switch from a seat system to a roster-style ballot. Mayor Stephanie Scott has repeatedly broken ties between the assembly members on whether to advance the ordinance which would make the change. Members Debra Schnabel, Joanne Waterman and Norm Smith have consistently voted for […]
Posted inNews
Budget: $12.2 million, reduction in tax rates
On a 4-2 vote, the Haines Borough Assembly approved its $12.2 million spending plan for the coming year Tuesday, including a reduction in the property tax rate inside and outside the townsite. Townsite landowners will pay 10.17 mills under the new budget, down from 10.79 mills last year. The base property tax rate outside the townsite was […]
Posted inNews
Assembly softens crab letter terms
The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously Tuesday to remove mention of an emergency closure to the local Dungeness crab fishery from a letter to the Department of Fish and Game. In the original letter, Mayor Stephanie Scott expressed concern that human and sea otter pressure on the fishery will ultimately decimate the crab biomass and prevent sustainable commercial, subsistence and […]
Posted inNews
Budget amended for museum, pool
The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday approved changes to the manager’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, including keeping the pool open year-round and increasing funding to the Sheldon Museum. The assembly also voted for the manager to provide a revised budget reflecting a combined 8 percent cut to the library, administration, finance and assessment/land management departments. […]