A shortage of staffing means shorter hours are to come at the city’s cash office and sales tax office, according to a city news release shared Tuesday afternoon.
Starting on Sept. 19, the City Borough of Juneau’s Treasury — including the cash office and sales tax office — will be reducing its in-person service hours to 10 a.m.- 3 p.m on weekdays “until further notice.”
The city cited staffing shortage as the reason behind the cut in hours in its news release, but stated “we hope to return to full service hours when staffing levels have improved.” It also included a link to job opportunities for residents who may express interest in working at CBJ in an accounting and finance-focused position.
The news release cited other ways that residents can pay tax or utility bills without going in person to its city hall office such as mail-in payments, dropping off payments at the various local drop boxes across town or utilizing online payment options.
The staffing shortage in the Finance Department runs parallel to the other widespread vacancies in multiple City and Borough of Juneau departments, according to City Manager Rorie Watt, who provided a verbal update on staffing during a Committee of the Whole meeting in early August.
[Help wanted Juneau: City feels the sting of the nationwide worker shortage]
“We’re constantly talking about the shortage of staff, and it takes away from big picture stuff,” Watt said at the meeting. “Everyone is doing well but it’s challenging and we’re all doing the best we can.”
As of Wednesday, the city has 29 open employment positions, some with multiple vacancies within them according to the CBJ website.
“The shortage is pretty well documented, and everyone is having a hard time hiring, I think,” Watt said in a phone interview with the Empire. “Inflation is hard, I think employees have a lot of choices and it’s really challenging for a lot of reasons.”
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
