Finance Committee may take action on property tax rate tonight

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Finance Committee is close to finishing its work on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. During its meeting at 5 p.m. today, the committee may take action on pending items, a resolution on a reduced capital improvement plan, an ordinance setting the property tax rate, and an ordinance on the general operating budget. If passed out of the finance committee today, the budget then heads to the Assembly for final authorization.

Follow along with the 5 p.m. meeting:

• Join the Zoom Webinar https://juneau.zoom.us/j/94810574007,
• Watch on Facebook Live, or
• Call 1-346-248-7799 and enter Webinar ID: 948 1057 4007.

The Finance Committee will consider the proposed mill levy ordinance. When the Manager introduced the ordinance, it called for a 1 mill increase for a total mill levy rate of 11.66 to pay for essential services in the face of drastically reduced Sales Tax revenue. Due to federal CARES Act funding, which has stabilized the budget picture, the Manager has since revised his recommendation to consider a much reduced mill levy increase of .1 mill. The .1 increase corresponds to the FY21 cost of the Assembly’s new childcare program. The Assembly has the final authority to set the mill rate. The CARES Act will initially provide up to $17 million in FY20 and FY21, and the Finance Committee will balance tax revenues with decisions about essential services.

Also on the agenda is the Budget Pending List, which includes several items, from grants to local organizations to Marine Passenger Fee recommendations to budget reduction scenarios. See what’s already been approved and what’s still pending here.