Month: April 2026

A petition to pause the 2026 seasonal sales tax increase gathered hundreds of signatures over the week that it was out at five local stores.  

Organizer Barb Nettleton delivered the petition, which has more than 500 signatures, to the borough clerk on April 6. The language on the petition asks for a “temporary pause of the seasonal sales tax for the 2026 summer season.” It goes on to detail increasing economic pressure from sharp increases in the cost of fuel, shipping and transportation. “A one-season pause will prevent additional financial strain during a period of unusually high costs, while honoring the intent of the voters,” according to the language. 

Haines’ seasonal sales tax is in its first year of implementation after voters approved it. It took what was a flat 5.5% tax rate in town and shifted it beginning January 1. The in-town sales tax rate dropped to 4.5 percent. Then on April 1 it jumped to 7% where it will remain through September 30. 

Nettleton said her intention was that the sales tax rate would be kept at the lower 4.5%. She said it’s her first time organizing a petition and she got the idea after she shared a social media post from Alaska Marine Lines announcing that it was increasing its fuel surcharge due to increasing fuel costs. 

She said she wanted the assembly to hear what people in the Chilkat Valley have been talking about so they “hear from more than just the handful of voices who are always commenting, always paying attention. Most people are busy with their lives, raising their children, running their businesses and they don’t have time to sit through hours worth of meetings.” 

Nettelton put signature sheets out for a petition for a week at the Alaskan Liquor Store, IGA, Olerud’s, Haines Home Building, and Dandelion. 

Some who signed it, like Taylor Ashton, originally supported the seasonal sales tax proposal but has since changed her mind. 

Ashton, who owns Moose Horn Laundry, moved to the Chilkat Valley from Skagway where she managed the Glacial Coffeehouse. Skagway has had a seasonal sales tax for years.  During an October 2025 interview, Ashton said residents there had adjusted well to the shifting tax burden which sees a 5% summer sales tax drop to 3% or lower in the winter. 

Ultimately, Ashton said she did not vote in favor of Haines’ seasonal sales tax rate, in part because it didn’t seem like it gave residents enough of a break in the winter to make up for the cost of a higher sales tax rate in the summer. 

And, she said, she is frustrated with how the Haines borough is seeking new revenue and specifically pointed to a potential $9 million grant for Letnikof Dock work that the borough missed a deadline to apply for.  

“[Staff] need to prioritize their time and really reach for grants and funding from outside of the community,” she said. “I would be more willing to pay more taxes, bigger taxes, if the borough was more proactive in bringing other streams of income into town as well.” 

Beau and Zane Bradley also signed Nettleton’s petition. 

Zane Bradley said they voted in favor of the seasonal sales tax increase last year because they supported the idea of shifting more of the year’s taxing onto non-locals. But after seeing the new tax law unfold, they said it seemed like residents do not get a significant enough break. 

And, “It’s a big burden on local business owners,” they said. 

That’s a sentiment Beau Bradley agreed with. The Bradleys bought The Bookstore last year and said their margins are slim, so adjustments can come at a big cost, particularly when people buy fewer things in order to save money. 

“We implemented a used book section to help make books more accessible to a wider group of people in town,” he said. “This [seasonal tax] is directly contradicting that.” 

Ashton, the Bradleys and Nettleton all said they were not sure if it was legal or part of an established process for the assembly to do what the petition asks, to pause implementation of something voters approved at the ballot box. 

Borough clerk Mike Denker said he has not researched the issue too heavily yet, but pointed to a section of borough charter which states that “the assembly may not repeal or substantially alter an ordinance enacted by initiative within two years after certification of the election at which the initiative was approved.” 

One question that raises, Denker said, is weighing whether the language in Nettleton’s petition asking for a “pause” counts as “substantially altering” the seasonal sales tax ordinance. 

“The assembly should seek legal guidance on that question,” he said. 

But as the assembly mulls over the petition, Denker said there are alternatives local citizens can pursue that could result in changes to the seasonal sales tax. Right now, his office is working on a guide for a citizen petition, essentially a step-by-step process for getting something onto the ballot either during a special election or the general election. 

Once a petition application is certified with the borough, organizers have 90 days to collect enough signatures to get it onto a ballot and they must collect at least 25% of the number of people who voted in the last election. Right now, he said, that number is 279 people. 

Once 279 signatures are gathered, then the borough has to hold an election between 45 and 75 days later, though there are some overlapping deadlines for special elections he’s trying to get clarity on, in part because of Nettleton’s petition. It’s something that could help answer the question of just how quickly voters could get changes to the seasonal sales tax law on a ballot if they wanted to, and legally could.  

But even though Nettleton’s petition is informal, Denker said he believes it’s important and means something both to the people who signed it and to elected officials. 

“I think it matters and it’s what decision-makers would look at,” he said.

The post Hundreds seek temporary relief from Haines’ summer sales tax appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Police patrolman Max Marty joined the Haines police department in September 2025. Both he and police chief Jimmy Yoakum spent 17 weeks attending the state police academy in Fairbanks. The duo completed their training Feb. 1 and have been in Haines since.
Marty sat down with Chilkat Valley News reporter Lizzy Hahn on April 2 to talk about his new role.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Lizzy Hahn: Where are you from and how long have you been in Haines?

Max Marty: I was born in Montana. I’ve been in Haines for about four years with my wife and two kids, soon to be three kids. I’ve been on with the department since last September.

We saw that you were a harbormaster here.

I was the assistant harbormaster for about two years, and then I was the interim harbormaster when Sean Bell, at the time, went to go have his kid in Juneau. So I was taking over for him for about a month, I believe. That’s where most people know me from, is the harbor.

What made you decide to leave the harbor job and become a police officer?

It’s better paying and it’s one of the jobs that I still am able to spend a lot of time with my kids. I’m working four 10s so I’ll get three days off during the work week with my family and that’s important to me. I like to stay in this town. I want to stay in this town, and this is a good, honorable position to do that.

Is policing what you expected it to be like? Have you done anything like this before?

I have no law enforcement background.

How did you choose to take a position here in Haines? What drew you to Alaska from out of state?

This is one of the jobs that will keep me in Haines. I really like this town, and this is a good job that will be full-time year-round, and I get to work with people that I like: Travis [Russell], my FTO, excellent co-worker, Sergeant [Max] Jusi, excellent co-worker, and the new chief. I spent a little over four months with him [Jimmy Yoakum], rooming together in the University of Fairbanks for the academy. So I got to spend a lot of time with him, and he’s a great guy. I like everybody that I work with a lot and that makes life easy.

How has your experience been thus far in the department? Have there been any highlights that you really enjoyed?

Things that I could talk about. I’ve had a few cases so far, some theft cases but as far as day-to-day action, it’s been fairly busy and I like it. I get to be outside and I get to make contacts with people that I’ve known prior in Haines, so I like it.

Have there been any big challenges since working in Haines, either in this position or just in general, in the past four years?

Honestly, no. No, I think if you just have the right mindset, you can make it work. We spent a little time, I have family, and I spent a little time down in Montana with family recently, and that was good to spend some time with them and get a refresh, and then come back here and stay long term.

Do you have a long-term plan of either moving or staying here? Do you know where you want to be in the future?

I just want to be in Alaska in the future, but as far as my long-term plan, I’m not, will not talk about that.

Going into the summer, as more people come into town, are you going to keep your eye out for anything in particular. Just keep doing general routines?

Exactly, yeah, I’m a patrolman with officer Russell, and that’s pretty much just what we do, is trying to keep everybody safe, keep everybody in line that needs to be in line. When you have a lot of new people coming into town, keeping drunk drivers off the street, keep people from doing things they shouldn’t be doing.

That’s actually very timely, because Brewfest is coming up.

It is coming up, that will be a big day, so I’ll be on patrol for that. I don’t remember the DUI count that they had last year. I think it was roughly four DUIs that they had for Brewfest. I’m sure we’ll be busy.

Is four a high number?

For a day, I would say yes, absolutely yeah for a Brewfest.

We’ve also recently noticed an uptick in traffic stops. What is it like bringing traffic enforcement back to the town that hasn’t had it in a while. The department has grown a lot from the two officers last year. What’s it like having an uptick in enforcement?

I can’t speak to that because I wasn’t the cop last year, but as far as making traffic stops, there’s probably an uptick because we have just more enforcement now, so now we’re just going to be, there’s more eyes on the street.

What’s it like being a public figure now that you have stepped into this role? Have you changed how you go around town or deal with the new title?

No, honestly, not that I thought about it. It is an honorable position, I don’t think I change my ways, as far as off duty, if that’s what you’re referring to.

And no one’s like, stopped you or anything?

Oh, that’s definitely happened a lot of times, you know. But as far as my day-to-day life, no, it’s just a different job that I get to give back to the community a little bit more, but I don’t change how I live my life outside of work.

What do you want people to know about you?

Honestly, as little as possible. I’ve made a lot of friends in this town, and I’ll continue to make new contacts with people that I meet, either on traffic stops or just on the street through the busy summer, and they can get to learn me then as I meet them face to face. I like this town. I’m a family guy, and I like who I work with. That’s about it.

The post Q&A with new policeman Max Marty appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.