Voting for a candidate based on their previous experience in office appears at first glance to be a rational approach, but it is wholly dependent on the definition one chooses for the word experience.
Should the measure of a person’s experience be that they were previously elected or appointed, or what they accomplished while they were keeping a chair warm? Affordable housing, childcare/early education, year-round employment, dock design, sales and severance taxes…the same questions and…
The Vote: Appointing vs Electing Planners, simplified.
First: unlike what some have claimed, appointees are no more or less qualified than the ones we elect. The difference is in who gets to determine those qualifications, and why.
When a mayor appoints, it is often like-minded individuals who will be subservient to and promote his or her ideological agenda. The mayor thus becomes “Planner in Chief.” Call this “Trickle-down-Trump” if you like.
By contrast, elected officials…
I am a proud citizen of Haines who has paid taxes on the resources I have taken out of local waters for many years. As a fisherman, I have had years of ups and downs, but I am still here.
When resources, whether it is fish, minerals, timber or anything else are taken within the Haines Borough, those resources should help to support the community from which they come.
Fishing people have been paying taxes…
It is time for the voters in Haines to pass the severance tax which is on the ballot for our local upcoming election. This is a tax on raw resources leaving the borough without any value added or sales tax collected. It is a fair and equitable tax that would apply to sand and gravel, timber and mineral export. It’s been a long public process to get to this point with several concessions to the…
Previously, we’ve had several election cycles where new candidates appeared in town briefly before appearing on the ballot – sometimes barely qualify for those restrictions.
Not good for the candidates – some leaving shortly after elected – nor for the
community, with candidates having little or no depth in understanding Haines. This year I am pleased to see candidates running with decades of history in Haines.
They are well vetted and committed to Haines. That…
I own 100 acres above 2 Mile Haines highway. The best purpose of the steep hillside is to grow timber. It takes 150 to 250 years to grow harvestable timber. At present, I pay about $1,200 property tax on that and an additional $640 per year on the “lot” for access to the property that is a 60-foot right of way. So the Haines Borough would collect over 150 years, $276,000 in property tax revenue…
Important decisions involving policy that affect all of us should have more voter involvement, not less. Land use shapes everything that goes on here: construction, tourism, industry, housing. Even what kind of dwelling you’re allowed to live in–which is to say, what kind of people get to live here.
In Haines, land use in many ways dictates policy–so we shouldn’t have the people writing policy also appointing people writing land use. Check and balance.
The…
When it comes to choosing an effective borough assembly member, it seems to me that being open, knowledgeable, engaged, involved, and thoughtful — in addition to being a year-round committed community member — is more important than one’s longevity in Haines.
Beau Bradley is a business owner, homeowner, and an established member of the Haines community. We need young people on the assembly to gain a public voice, to offer a fresh perspective, and to…
Erika Merklin has not developed her own property correctly, but she wants you to vote for her so she can decide how others may develop their property. The borough has a long-plat application showing that her house encroaches significantly onto the adjoining property. It is a public document. Call the planner at the borough office if you want a copy. Commissioners who evaluate other land-use decisions should expect accountability for their own development.
At the…
Haines voters deserve a clearly written tax proposal.
Proposition 1 would create a severance tax on mining, but the language raises important questions about exactly who would be taxed. The ordinance defines “persons” broadly, potentially including individuals, partnerships, corporations, joint ventures, trusts, estates and other groups. Residents should not have to guess what a tax ordinance means or who it applies to.
The proposal also raises questions about how the tax was calculated, why mining…
