The City and Borough of Juneau is responsible for providing police and fire protection, funding education for youth, building and repairing roads, maintaining parks, libraries and recreational centers, as well as a host of other things. The budget serves as a major policy document that describes how CBJ intends to finance these services and infrastructure. Each April, the City Manager presents a proposed annual operating and capital budget. The Juneau Assembly then follows a multi-week process to ensure the budget meets the needs of our diverse community.
Budget Process – April to June 2023
City Manager Rorie Watt presented the budget for fiscal year 2024 on April 5 during a Special Juneau Assembly meeting. The manager’s proposed budget included the CBJ operating budget, the Juneau School District operating budget, the capital improvement plan, and the property tax mill levy rate. Fiscal year 2024 begins July 1, 2023 and ends June 30, 2024.
The CBJ operating budget includes general government and enterprise organizations. General government includes departments like the Juneau Police Department, Capital City Fire/Rescue, Parks & Recreation, and the Libraries. Enterprise organizations are Bartlett Regional Hospital, Juneau International Airport, Docks & Harbors and Water & Sewer.
View the Assembly Finance Committee meeting schedule:
From April to May, the Juneau Assembly Finance Committee reviewed the City Manager’s proposed fiscal year 24 revised budget through a series of public meetings to identify specific concerns through conversations with residents, advocates, and city agencies.
Following the budget introduction on April 5, Assembly Finance Committee meetings were held on April 5, April 12, April 19, April 26, May 3, May 10, and May 17.
The public had an opportunity to comment on the CBJ operating budget, the Juneau School District operating budget, the capital improvement plan, and the property tax mill levy rate at a public hearing during a Regular Juneau Assembly meeting on April 26.
The Juneau School District’s FY24 budget was introduced during a Special Juneau Assembly meeting on April 5. The Juneau School District presented their budget request to the Assembly Finance Committee on April 12. The public had an opportunity to comment on the School District’s budget during a Special Assembly meeting on April 26. The Juneau Assembly adopted the final FY24 School District budget during a Regular Assembly meeting on May 8.
The Juneau Assembly adopted the FY24 CBJ operating budget, property tax mill levy rate, and the Capital Improvement Plan during a Regular Assembly Meeting on June 12, 2023.
CBJ Taxes
The City and Borough of Juneau’s authorization to levy a property tax is provided under Alaska State Statute Section 29.45. Under this section, the State requires the Assessor to assess property at full and true value as of January 1 each year. The full and true value is the estimated price that the property would bring in an open market in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer (AS 29.45.110)). The areawide projected “taxable” assessed value (full and true less exempted properties) for the 2024 fiscal year (2023 calendar year) is $6.5 billion, up from $5.8 billion (a 13% increase) in fiscal year 2023.
The rate of levy is to be fixed by Assembly resolution, determined annually before June 15, per AS 29.45.240. The State of Alaska requires a number of property exemptions that municipalities must exempt when taxing property
(AS 29.45.030).
The taxable assessed value is net of a projected $575 million of property exemptions. The Senior Citizen and Disabled Veteran exemptions are about 66% of the total.
The Juneau Taxpayer Receipt provides residents an estimate of how CBJ spends property and sales taxes, with a breakdown of programs and services supported by residents’ tax dollars. This tool will produce a tax receipt that includes CBJ’s 5% sales tax for all residents and CBJ’s property tax rate of 10.16 mills for home owners. The receipt does not include additional taxes levied on the sale of tobacco, liquor, or marijuana, and it does not account for property taxes that are paid via rental costs. Taxpayer Receipt breaks that total tax burden down into proportional amounts for all of CBJ’s individual programs and services – police, fire, parks, recreation, libraries, etc. – that are supported by those taxes based on CBJ’s fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) budget.
Juneau residents can access Taxpayer Receipt here or by selecting the “Your Taxpayer Receipt” button above.