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JUNEAU - Juneau Assembly member Sara Chambers wants to remove sales taxes from Juneau residents' grocery bills.

Upset with the Assembly's decision this week to spend half a million dollars in sales tax reserves on a bronze whale sculpture, Chambers said she wants to stem the flow of money into city coffers.

"If we can afford to pay $500,000 for a piece of art, we don't need to tax people on milk and broccoli," she said.

Chambers was one of three board members Monday who voted against the expenditure, which has drawn broad public criticism.

"Clearly we have more money than we know what to do with," she said. "We should just let the people decide what to do with it themselves."

Chambers said she will make a motion at the Sept. 8 Assembly meeting to form a task force to explore removing sales taxes from food purchased in the city. The idea is not new, and was brought up during the campaign for her seat in 2006, she said.

But the issue of government spending is more pressing now, as residents face increased prices for food and gas and a slowing economy, she said.

"The whole whale sculpture deal has shown me that maybe we need to take some more meaningful action to help more people in Juneau," she said.

Her motion would have to pass by a majority vote. If it does, a task force would look into details such as which kinds of food would be exempt, how merchants would ring up sales and how it would financially affect the city.

About 45 percent of the city's $290 million annual budget comes from sales taxes.

The decision to help the Whale Committee start the casting of the life-sized sculpture planned for the downtown waterfront also is likely to be discussed on Sept. 8.

Assembly member Randy Wanamaker said Tuesday he will ask the board to reconsider its decision at the meeting.