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 […]
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Posted inNews
Goll, Thomas pen critique of highway plan
Haines Borough Assembly members Tuesday hashed out a position on the state’s plans for widening the Haines Highway, incorporating verbiage from a joint statement issued by former state representatives Bill Thomas and Peter Goll. The Department of Transportation plan to widen the road between 3.5 and 25.3 Mile came under fiery criticism last week for only superficially […]
Posted inNews
Benassi launches write-in campaign
Resident Mario Benassi on Monday filed notice of intent with the Haines Borough to run as a write-in candidate for a seat on the assembly. A seven-year resident, Benassi, 50, is a freelance cinematographer and director of photography. He lives at Mosquito Lake. Planning commission member Rob Miller and businessman George Campbell are official candidates for the […]
Posted inNews, School Board
Two candidates for assembly, four to vie for school board
Despite a recent change in election procedures and exemption from state financial disclosure requirements, only two candidates filed to fill two seats up for grabs on the Haines Borough Assembly this October. Residents George Campbell and Rob Miller are hoping to secure the two three-year seats, and likely will, though voters can still elect write-in candidates. Incumbents Norm […]
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
Borough adds $210K to Front Street work
The Haines Borough has agreed to chip in up to $210,000 toward state-funded Front Street improvements, bringing the project total to about $5 million. The assembly voted July 9 to use $110,000 of cruise ship head tax funds to ensure that existing Front Street sidewalks are replaced. It also voted to appropriate up to $100,000 from the […]
Posted inElections, News
Local candidate filing period open to July 26
Residents interested in running for Haines Borough Assembly or school board must declare their candidacy and file the appropriate paperwork by July 26. Two assembly seats and two school board seats, all with three-year terms, are available. One school board seat with a two-year term will also be open. Assembly member Norm Smith, whose seat is opening up, said this week “there is no […]
Posted inNews
Telephone poles, wires to stay
Borough officials this week said recent efforts to bury view-obstructing utility lines at the intersection of Front Street and Old Haines Highway are “dead.” The state Department of Transportation’s reluctance to work with the borough on burying the lines this far into the project plus the expense involved have effectively “squashed” the idea, said public […]
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 […]