The City and Borough of Juneau Finance Committee will dive more into the fiscal year 2019 budget during its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The budget was presented to the committee on April 4 and included an overview and presentation from the Juneau School District Board of Education and what is in store for the Capital Improvement Plan.
Expected action will be taken on the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) during this week’s meeting. The funding proposed in the FY 19 budget for the CIP is $25 million which is a $4.5 million decrease from last year due to a decrease in appropriations of State Marine Passenger Fees. The committee can adopt a memo with plans and changes to the CIP and send it to the Assembly or it may place the CIP on the pending list to be dealt with at the end of the budget process. Generally, the CBJ spends between $50 and $75 million on capital projects.
The committee will also hear presentations from the Juneau International Airport, Docks &Harbors and the Juneau Community Foundation with a focus on the Teacher Excellence Fund Investment Performance, Treadwell Programs, Juneau Park Program and Social Service Grant Program.
During the first budget meeting, City Finance Director Bob Bartholomew told the committee that the budget is stable because of an increase — instead of a predicted decrease — in revenues from city sales tax, despite a loss in population and jobs.
The overall combined FY 19 budget is $333 million — which is down $2.9 million from last year. This includes about $86 million for the Juneau School District, $25 million for capital improvement projects and $69 million for general government departments. Bartholomew is requesting a draw from the fund balance to cover expenditures. The goal of the budget process is to get the draw to be around $500,000. The extra funds from sales tax not predicted give the city a little more room to draw from the fund balance — which stands at approximately $5 million.
The Assembly Finance Committee is scheduled to meet every Wednesday through May 16. The public can comment on the budget at a public hearing during a Special Assembly Meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 25. The Assembly is also scheduled to make a preliminary decision on the Juneau School District budget funding during the April 25 Special Meeting and plans to adopt the school district’s general operating budget at a Regular Juneau Assembly Meeting on May 14.
• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.
