Petition books were issued Wednesday for three proposals backers hope to put on the fall municipal election ballot that would lower the cap on property taxes, exempt food and utilities from local sales taxes, and make in-person rather than by-mail elections the default at the local level.
The initiative petitions backed by the Affordable Juneau Coalition will each need at least 2,720 signatures by May 30 from Juneau residents legally registered to vote to qualify for the Oct. 7 ballot, according to a letter sent to the organization Monday by Beth McEwen, municipal clerk for the City and Borough of Juneau.
The three proposals seek to:
• Cap the CBJ property taxes at nine mills rather than the current limit of 12, not including debt service such as bond payments. The current mill rate is 10.04 — including 1.08 mills for debt service — and the proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 proposes a rate of 10.19. The Assembly could raise the mill rate above the cap with voter approval in a general or special election.
• “Exempt essential food and non-commercial utilities from CBJ sales tax for residents.” Essential food is defined as items specified in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. The utilities provision refers to residential heat, electricity, water, wastewater, and curbside refuse and recycling collection. The city’s current sales tax rate is 5%.
• Make all local elections poll-based instead of by mail “unless otherwise directed by the Assembly.” Vote-by-mail elections were implemented at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the Assembly voted to make them the default option in 2023.
A fourth ballot petition by different supporters is already circulating, which would place daily and annual limits on the number of visitors allowed on cruise ships with capacity for 250 or more passengers. Signatures for that measure are due May 19.
The tax-related measures are intended — as per the supporting coalition’s name — to make Juneau more affordable by putting restrictions on the current direction being taken by city leaders, according to Joe Geldhof, a local attorney and former Juneau Assembly candidate representing the Affordable Juneau Coalition. He also said in an interview earlier this month conducting a by-mail election is “slower and it marginally increases the potential for fraud.”
The group’s intentions are spelled out in “whereas” clauses on its petitions, which McEwen noted in her letter were not verified for factual accuracy and won’t appear on ballots if the measures get enough signatures.
Both of the tax measures, for instance, start with a declaration that “the cost of living in the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, is considerably higher than many other communities of a similar size in America.” The group’s petition on elections states “the mail-in voting system adopted by the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly decreased civic involvement and eroded participation that was characteristic of the old in-person voting system.”
A state report released last year found Juneau’s cost of living was nearly 28% higher than the average of 265 U.S. cities in 2023, a somewhat smaller gap than previous years. The biggest differences were healthcare at more than 50% higher and utilities at 40%. Groceries were 22.7% higher.
Juneau’s voter turnout in regular municipal elections for each year between 2018 and 2024 has been 35.5%, 31.4%, 42.7%, 30.8%, 32.87%, 33.98% and 38.7%, according to the municipal clerk’s office.
The Assembly is already considering a proposal exempting food and utilities from local sales taxes — and budget documents suggest how leaders might compensate for the revenue that would be lost under such a policy. Among the possibilities—besides raising the mill rate — are a seasonal sales tax between April and September intended to take advantage of the cruise ship season, increasing utility rates, and bond measures.
A 2023 estimate stated a food tax exemption would save Juneau households an average of $143 a year and cost the city about $6.5 million. Increasing the overall sales tax rate by 1% during the tourism season — or a mill rate increase of about 1.2% — were suggested at the time as ways to make up for the lost revenue.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
