When I ran for borough assembly in 2016, I opposed a plan developed by a borough-appointed Solid Waste Working Group for a government takeover of garbage services locally. I’m still opposed to that plan because I believe it’s too expensive – up to 1 percent of sales tax or $628,000 annually, along with tipping fees – and it’s unnecessary. When…
If you have a beef with the Haines Borough government, it’s time to push your point. This is what elections are about. In fall of 2016, the Haines chapter of the Alaska Miners’ Association was concerned about the state’s consideration of Tier 3 protections, possibly including placing those protections on the Chilkat River. So the miners held a local meeting…
There’s a fundamental problem with our form of local government: Residents don’t understand who’s in charge. Consider this statement Haines Borough Assembly candidate Gabe Thomas made to KHNS this week: “I think the Assembly’s main responsibility is to set the budget. It’s not to direct the manager in any other way, besides give her the budget, let her review the…
In the 2006 horror movie classic, “When A Stranger Calls,” a babysitter is spooked by increasingly ominous prank phone calls. When she calls the phone company to trace the calls, she gets the most chilling message — that the calls are coming from inside the house. As a Haines Borough Assembly member, I can relate. Our manager, Debra Schnabel, pursues…
This is what to do with your vote on adding a 2 percent tax on sales of alcohol and marijuana: Vote “no” on both measures. Wait one year until a voter initiative — or the assembly — dedicates income from both these taxes to a comprehensive, community recreation program. Vote “yes” on both measures in 2020. About a year ago,…
Besides the obvious question of whether Heath Scott deserves to be paid nearly $33,000 more than any other permanent police chief in our town’s history is the matter of the precedent set for a 10 percent pay increase to borough executives. Under his proposed new contract, Scott will make $110,000 annually for 18 months starting in January, then get a…
“So another part-time position has become permanent?” — Haines Borough Assembly member Don Turner III, asking borough manager Robert Venables about his proposal to create a full-time “facilities director” position, September 18, 2007. “So long as grants are paying for it.” — Venables’ response. Let the record show: “Liberals” on the Haines Borough Assembly tried to reduce the size of…
Haines Borough manager Debra Schnabel recently increased the pay of police chief Heath Scott to more than $110,000 annually, making Scott the highest-paid police chief in borough history, by $33,000. (Bill Musser, the last, permanent chief previous to Scott, was paid $76,877, according to borough finance department.) Scott had been making $100,000 annually and getting $50,000 in benefits, and was…
Don’t be fooled. A ballot measure asking Haines Borough voters to expand police powers to the roaded boundaries of the municipality would give the borough power to tax residents in outlying areas for those times that townsite police choose to drive out there. Don’t let proponents of this change tell you otherwise. The power to deliver a service is the…
Simultaneous vacancies in three full-time Haines Borough jobs – planner, facilities director and grant writer – offer the community a chance to streamline staff and reshuffle priorities in an era of deep government cuts that historically supported our town. The assembly should act on this for several reasons including: 1) It’s very difficult to eliminate a position when it’s occupied,…