(Juneau) The Juneau Common Council heard an update on the 2019 budget Tuesday night. The preliminary $9.1-million-dollar document includes a tax levy of $909-thousand dollars, which would be down $400-thousand dollars from 2018. Juneau residents would see a decrease in the mill rate for the city portion of their taxes. The $9.33-per-thousand-dollar tax rate as proposed is two-cents less than the number homeowners saw last December. Equalized property values are up slightly.
The proposed budget includes a three-percent pay increase for the city’s 35 employees, which has budget impact of around $5000. Health insurance costs also decreased with the typical family policy seeing a $20 monthly reduction in premium costs. The Juneau Common Council on Tuesday approved Capital Equipment Requests totaling $55-thousand-dollars. Among the items approved: $33-thousand dollars for public works for lawn mowers, a Bobcat and a tractor lease and $8000 for turnout gear and portable radios for the fire department. Finance Committee Chair Cheryl Braun says capital requests initially totaled $219-thousand dollars.
The council on Tuesday also approved resolutions related to preliminary work on road construction projects planned next year. That includes Victory Street, where the sewer lift station is being removed, and Leonard Avenue and Downie Drive. The extent of the projects and funding still has to be determined though the money is expected to come from either the utility, revenue from the new Tax Increment Finance District or a combination. The budget hearing and planned adoption is planned for Tuesday, November 27th at 6:30pm.
