Juneau’s Assembly Finance Committee is staring down a major budget deficit for fiscal year 2027.
They inched their way through a long night of budget cutting at a work session last night, trimming around the edges while sparing some of the city’s most debated programs.
Finance Director Angie Flick warned the city cannot afford to end the year in the red.
“You should be projected to be at zero at worst case scenario,”
Flick told the committee, “I think my predecessor and the prior city manager had some conversations with the assembly at the time and suggested $5 or $7 million as a fund balance, and that was based on the spending and the projects that the assembly liked to do. When I went back and looked over the last three years, I would, if I were making a recommendation based on your past to predict your future, I would say you would want $11 to $12 million in your fund balance. There were some significant general fund dollars that went to support the school district when it was in need, there’s been significant one-time dollars that have gone to flood fighting, and then there have been other community priorities that the body has decided to fund, and so you know, based on how the body has approached spending in the past, that would be the kind of fund balance that I would suggest. I think the real pressing concern that’s going to be hard to get around, would be flood fighting as we move forward, and that’s just going to be a tricky one to deal with.”
The current draft budget uses about $8 million in fund balance to cover operating costs, leaving Juneau projected at negative $1.7 million in unrestricted fund balance. Even if a package of fast‑tracked sales tax changes passes, that only improves the outlook modestly.
Members were split over strategy.
Some pushed for deeper cuts now and said they were aiming to leave roughly $5 million in fund balance. Others favored relying more on one‑time project cuts until they know whether new revenue measures or fall ballot initiatives will pass.
In terms of action taken, prior to the June 8 public hearing, members voted 5-4 to cut $75,000 a year from the city’s landscape budget.
Assembly member Neil Steininger was one of those who objected to the cuts saying, “I feel like when we just call this the landscaping budget, it’s kind of a misnomer, because so many other things fit in there. This is a parks maintenance budget, it’s not the flowers downtown, it is not beautification landscape, it is safety considerations, it is cleanliness, it is all of those things. I don’t think when people hear landscape budget they think about trail maintenance. I think it’s an important thing that we spend money on to keep Juneau safe.”
Supporters, said the cut will make residents more aware of what those services cost.
The Assembly also approved a $261,000 recurring cut to the Juneau City Museum, staff said this will mean two layoffs and reduced public access.
Members also voted 5-4 for a one‑time $300,000 cut to the city’s grant for the Juneau Economic Development Council.
A $300,000 cut to staff travel and training was rejected.
Assembly members rejected a deeper, one‑time $250,000 cut to the Affordable Housing Fund, but later agreed to a smaller $150,000 reduction. Several members argued this is the wrong time to pull back on housing dollars.
“It is very hard for me to look at our actions and look at our process and look at where we are trying to go, and the things that people have said no to for cuts, speaking to the importance of their value to the community, and then turn around and say that we can afford a cut like this to the affordable housing fund.” Said Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, “It does not make sense to me that rationale.”
The Assembly also kept a subsidy in place for Bartlett Regional Hospital’s home health and hospice program, while directing Bartlett to cover a separate, one‑time $247,000 substance use treatment grant for Gastineau Human Services.
They also approved a $20,000 one‑time cut to the city’s accessory dwelling unit grant program and voted to eliminate general fund support for the Jensen‑Olson Arboretum.
The Assembly declined to reduce funding for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council or the Small Business Development Center.
A proposal to lease out the Douglas Fire Station failed after the fire chief warned it would worsen the island’s insurance rating and emergency response.
Committee members repeatedly emphasized that none of the reductions are final.
“These are not final decisions, what we are trying to do tonight is come to a holistic budget that we can pass to the full Assembly so that the public can get one more opportunity to give us feedback on it.” Said Finance Director Christine Woll, “Nothing is set in stone until we vote as a full Assembly on June 8.”
A complete budget, including any service cuts and use of savings is expected to go to the full Assembly and the public for a final vote June 8.
