In a meeting this week, the Haines Borough’s Finance Committee recommended the borough assembly refrain from tabling until March discussions on an increase on docking and moorage rates for the Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry.   The Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee and Tourism Advisory Board on Oct. 11 recommended tabling the matter until March.  Committee member Joanne Waterman said […]

A recent addition to a memo put out by Haines Borough manager Mark Earnest acknowledged the possibility of using a flat as opposed to graduated tax structure for a proposed motor vehicle registration tax. The borough finance committee discussed the flat tax option during a meeting this week. Earnest’s memo said if vehicle owners had to pay a $20 […]

Besides casting ballots in the national election, residents on Nov. 6 get to weigh in on a Haines Borough motor vehicle registration tax, a proposal aimed at addressing junked and abandoned cars. On Tuesday, the assembly voted 5-1 to introduce an ordinance for the tax, which would be collected by the state and raise $40,000 annually for […]

Casting a tie-breaking vote, Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott stopped an assembly motion Tuesday aimed at extending manager Mark Earnest’s contract through June 2014. With Scott’s vote, the assembly agreed, 4-3, to postpone the matter to Nov. 6, when Earnest has been asked to make a formal proposal. “My concern is that it’s a big decision,” Scott said. “I’m […]

The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday 4-2 to introduce an ordinance that would charge heli-ski companies a $5 per skier-day fee and allow fines up to $1,000 per day for permit violations. Establishment of the fee would not be effective until the 2014 season. Under current borough law, fines are limited to $300. Members Jerry Lapp and Norm Smith voted in […]

Incumbent assembly member Joanne Waterman cruised by challenger Jim Studley and former City of Haines Mayor Dave Berry topped Jono Greene for an open seat in Tuesday’s Haines Borough election. Voters also exempted local political candidates from State of Alaska financial disclosure requirements. The vote tally was 457-362, or 56 percent approval. The vote was the third ballot measure on disclosure […]

Haines Borough voters on Tuesday will fill two seats on the assembly and three seats on the school board, and revisit a question about exempting local candidates from the state’s financial disclosure laws. Polls at the American Bald Eagle Foundation and Klehini Valley Firehall are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Candidate views and election-related stories can be […]

Three candidates for Haines Borough Assembly offered views on a range of local issues at a candidates’ forum last week sponsored by We the People of Haines. The event, held Sept. 13 at Sheldon Museum, drew candidates Dave Berry, Jono Greene and Joanne Waterman. Below are excerpted responses to some of the questions asked by We the People […]

A third and expected final public hearing on a proposed Haines Borough financial disclosure law for local leaders bogged down Tuesday when assembly member Debra Schnabel raised a list of issues, including changing the definition of “sources of income.” Another change proposed for the meeting would have added real estate brokers to a list of professions that under the […]

The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday relaxed its proposed financial disclosure reporting regulations, eliminating a requirement that would have made elected officials report their full incomes. Under an amendment pushed by assemblywoman Joanne Waterman, borough elected leaders would have to report only sources of income greater than $5,000, not total amounts of income from those sources. The change […]