For years, the Haines Borough has not used the full share of the interest it’s authorized to spend annually from the borough’s $8 million permanent fund. Whether to tap into that pool – about $1.4 million in the fund’s “earnings reserve” – likely will be a topic for borough assembly leaders as they take up the coming […]
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Staff floats budget proposals
Preliminary budget discussions between the Haines Borough Assembly and department heads Feb. 10 yielded several suggestions for the fiscal year 2015 budget, including expanding the administration building, installing security cameras at several borough facilities and restructuring the tourism director position. The four-hour meeting was informal, with each department head giving a brief rundown of budget needs and […]
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ANB/ANS honor 3 on Peratrovich Day
Haines ANB and ANS on Sunday honored residents Mike Denker, David Light and the late Brendan Larson as people whose work helped the cause of civil rights in Haines. The recognition was part of a local celebration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. “The things (the honorees) have done have helped advance understanding between people and cultures,” […]
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Assembly considers ‘action’ minutes
Due to a recent months-long backlog in the production of meeting minutes, Haines Borough staff is proposing the clerk be required to produce only a stripped-down account of meetings. Interim clerk Michelle Webb is recommending the clerk be required to take “action-only” minutes, which do not document discussions leading up to decisions or motions. Action minutes are […]
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Assembly retracts mining letter
The Haines Borough Assembly last week voted to send a retraction letter to a state agency after discovering a previous letter had been sent without assembly approval. The initial letter was sent to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office regarding the potential leasing of nearly 100,000 acres of land near Haines to mineral exploration and production. […]
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Musser hired as chief; to earn $75K
Following the breakdown of negotiations with former police chief candidate Richard Crays, Haines Borough interim manager Julie Cozzi Tuesday recommended the hire of runner-up candidate Bill Musser. The assembly approved the recommendation 5-1, with assembly member Debra Schnabel opposed. Cozzi said she “never wavered in her support of Bill Musser,” despite not initially recommending him for the position. […]
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Crays: For $80K, I wouldn’t have applied
Haines Borough interim manager Julie Cozzi said this week that staff was not out of place in providing former police chief candidate Richard Crays a salary range for the position that exceeded the $80,000 the borough had budgeted for it. The attempted hire of Crays imploded last week after the borough assembly put a $73,000 […]
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Legislator to address Chamber on Saturday
State Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, is coming to Haines this weekend to visit with the Chamber of Commerce, the Haines Borough school board and a high school government class. Kreiss-Tomkins will speak at a chamber luncheon starting noon Saturday at the Chilkat Bakery. In addition to discussing the legislative session and how the proposed laws could affect people in […]
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ATVs on roads? Ordinance back
Haines Borough Assembly member Jerry Lapp is resuming the push for relaxation of snowmachine and all-terrain vehicle laws in the borough. An ordinance proposed by Lapp and introduced by the assembly Tuesday would allow ATV use on streets and highways within the borough. It also would allow snowmachine use on highway shoulders in the borough. A similar […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Ordinance essential for good government
The previous edition contained a statement that the committee appointment ordinance should be implemented as policy instead of code. The advocate argues, “Every time we turn around, we are fighting against the code for one reason or another.” I argue that this is exactly what code is for, and for good reason. Local government was established through […]