By Win Gruening 
By WIN GRUENING
Juneau’s municipal election is over, but the budget battle is just beginning.
The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly met Monday, Oct. 28, in their first formal meeting since the conclusion of Juneau’s municipal election on Oct. 7. The agenda was light,and no consequential decisions were made. Yet, the meeting foreshadowed budget challenges facing the Assembly in the weeks and months ahead.
Next year’s budget process begins with setting priorities at the Assembly Retreat on Dec. 6, followed by a series of Finance Committee meetings culminating in an approved budget by next May.
This week it was the Assembly’s Reorganization Meeting where new and re-elected Assembly members are seated, and a Deputy Mayor is elected. That bit of ceremonial business was handled swiftly. Newly elected Assembly member, Nano Brooks, was sworn in along with returning members Greg Smith and Ella Adkisson, Greg Smith was unanimously re-elected Deputy Mayor, and Assembly members chose their seats,
Public participation on non-agenda items was next. Typically, this moves quickly and frequently no one speaks. This time, however, the room was packed with residents making last minute pleas to postpone the Nov. 1 eviction of tenants and planned re-development of Telephone Hill. The Assembly was presented with a petition requesting a delay on any further action signed by 847 people. Sixteen people testified in support of the petition.
After the testimony, Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon reminded everyone that a scheduled public meeting on Nov. 3 would include a discussion of future plans for Telephone Hill. She provided no detail, and no Assembly member moved to change the eviction deadline currently in place on November 1.
Therefore, it appears that tenant evictions will go forward and the plan to spend up to $9 million to raze existing structures, build a road, and prepare the property for development is still being contemplated. While it’s possible that these expenditures could be reconsidered or modified, it doesn’t appear likely at this point, barring some sort of legal action.
After the consent agenda was passed, a public hearing was held for eleven proposed ordinances. No member of the public testified, and most were housekeeping items that had no budget impact.
Two of the ordinances, however, are worth mentioning.
Towards the end of the meeting, the City Clerk provided an official 2025 election report. CBJ mailed approximately 25,000 ballots to registered voters – most of which were discarded and never returned. Voter turnout was 36.6% (2024 turnout was 38.7%).
Along with other budget considerations, our Assembly should reconsider the necessity of continuing Vote-By-Mail, which is expensive, delays results and has not delivered significantlyincreased voter turnout. The Assembly’s new proposal to implement ranked-choice-voting will add even more expense, delay, and uncertainty to Juneau’s electoral process. The Assembly plans to act on that proposal in their Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, Nov. 3.
Crafting a budget this year won’t be easy. Assembly members are beginning to understand that voters expect them to say “no” or cut back on discretionary and unnecessary spending while preserving the core services of government.
Voters have delivered, now it’s time for Juneau Assembly members to do the same.
Win Gruening retired as senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank for the State of Alaska in 2012. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1970. After serving as a pilot in the US Air Force flying in the Pacific and Vietnam, Win began his banking career with Rainier Bank in Seattle and moved home to Juneau in 1980. Win has been involved extensively in various local and statewide organizations such as United Way, Junior Achievement, and the Alaska Committee.
Suzanne Downing