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 […]

Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest has said he would “just as soon terminate” a confidentiality agreement signed with a Yukon energy consortium but a company representative who co-signed the pact said this week he’d like to know why. Dempster Energy Services operations manager Ron Daub Monday confirmed the agreement that extends three years can be withdrawn. “It’s […]

Anyone traveling on behalf of the Haines Borough may soon be required to write a report detailing what they learned during the trip. Borough manager Mark Earnest recently drafted a trip report policy that is now open to public comment. According to the draft, trip reports should include “the purpose of the trip, what you did, what you learned […]

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 […]

A mayor’s report found differing explanations for why a charge was reduced by plea bargain in a case involving an alleged assault on the Haines harbormaster. According to a report presented by Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott at Tuesday’s assembly meeting, Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams said she would have preferred to take the case to trial, but could […]

The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved the hire of Carlos Jimenez as public facilities director, a $75,000-per-year position that oversees capital projects and the municipality’s public works and water and sewer departments. Jimenez topped three other applicants for the position, including Jeremy Stephens, a state Department of Transportation project engineer, and John Huestis, a Craig-based engineer […]

In a joint meeting last week, the Haines Borough’s Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee and Tourism Advisory Board recommended tabling until March discussion of increasing docking and moorage rates for the Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry, a private shuttle that primarily brings passengers to town from cruise ships in Skagway. At the same meeting, the groups recommended […]

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 […]

In the wake of concerns about government secrecy, the Haines Borough will ask its Haines Port Steering Development Committee to review a proposed memorandum of understanding and confidentiality agreement with Wellgreen mine developer Prophecy Platinum Corp. at its meeting Oct. 25. Prophecy is considering Haines as a transshipment port for nickel ore from Burwash Landing, Y.T. ore […]

A $2.5 million upgrade of the planned Wells Bridge replacement and a certain amount of public support may be necessary for mines in the western Yukon Territory to use Haines as an ore transshipment site, local leaders heard at a “Minerals, Natural Gas and Transportation Summit” last week. About 20 officials, including ones from mine […]