The Haines Borough is planning to spend more than $6,000, including $3,650 or more in attorney’s fees, to process a foreign worker visa for Xi “Tracy” Cui, a Chinese national who is the municipality’s choice for planning and zoning technician. Through March, the borough has paid $3,650 to Lane Powell, a nationwide firm specializing in labor law […]

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 […]

The annual Fourth of July fireworks display is back on schedule. The Haines Borough recently agreed to pay for insurance coverage for the event, following a decision by the Haines Chamber of Commerce to no longer sponsor it. A $5 million policy purchased through Fire Art by Griz, the fireworks supplier for pyrotechnician Phil Wilde, costs $1,500, […]

By Krista Kielsmeier Haines Borough code mandates the municipality have a department of economic development and a director to lead it. “Despite this code requirement, to my knowledge the department has never been established,” Mayor Stephanie Scott wrote in a memo last month, requesting that section of code be repealed. The Haines Borough Assembly this week advanced to a second public […]

The Haines Borough is sponsoring a work visa for a Chinese national to become the municipality’s next planning and zoning technician. Xi “Tracy” Cui, who holds a master’s degree in planning from the University of Florida, was the administration’s top choice for the job, said manager Mark Earnest, who made the hire with the assistance of clerk Julie […]

Phil Benner is returning to his post as Haines Borough harbormaster, three years after leaving the job. “I am committed to Haines for the next 10 to 15 years,” Benner said this week. The Haines Borough Assembly approved Benner’s hire Tuesday, on the recommendation of manager Mark Earnest and the borough’s port and harbor advisory committee, at an annual salary of […]

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 […]

The job shuffle at city hall continued this week with the temporary hire of Phil Benner as harbormaster, and a four-month extension for facilities manager Brian Lemcke. Meanwhile, the Haines Borough Assembly is moving ahead with a transition plan that would give clerk Julie Cozzi responsibilities of the borough manager. Cozzi would be aided in the job […]