Win Gruening: Where is the transparency and accountability in Juneau city government?

By WIN GRUENING

The threat to the entire Juneau community due to annual flooding from glacial outbursts cannot be overstated. Juneau residents living in the affected area and other locals with subject-matter expertise in glaciology, geology and engineering have spent months brainstorming possible solutions.

Juneau residents fully expected that an open and thorough examination of cost-effective alternatives would take place, with a strong reliance on practical, proven, science-based solutions.

That’s not what seems to have occurred.

On December 5, it was announced that the US Corps of Engineers (USACE) would host a meeting with selected Federal agencies, local officials and scientists to discuss five options to prevent homes from flooding in the coming years and the meeting would be closed to the public.

A USACE spokesperson was quoted saying that the 3-day meeting, which barred public and press attendance, was an “opportunity to work with our partners without any kind of public scrutiny.”

Allowed to participate were government agencies, consultants, five CBJ officials and two representatives from Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

At the conclusion of the meetings, it was announced  that the preferred alternative is to blast a 2 ½ mile tunnel through Bullard Mountain, creating a “lake tap” so Suicide Basin’s water can drain more slowly into Mendenhall Lake.

This alternative seems risky and expensive, with a confusing emphasis on cultural preservation. Early cost estimates range from $613 million to $1 billion. It’s hard to understand how this could possibly be the quickest and least expensive solution, as the city has suggested.

USACE cancelled a scheduled press briefing and no official explanation or rationale was offered. Questions abound:

• Why was it necessary to hold secret meetings?
• Drilling a 2 ½ mile tunnel will produce thousands of tons of rock – where will it go?
• If the tunnel becomes “plugged” with ice or rock, how do you “unplug” it underwater?
• Why is a “cultural sensitivity” study required?

Secrecy breeds suspicion. Selecting a “solution,” albeit preliminary, before thoroughly discussing it in public does a disservice to our community. It leaves the impression that  citizens are being sidelined.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly needs to regain the trust they have lost with voters over the last several years. Whether that happens depends on each Assembly member’s commitment to open communication and transparent processes.

That hasn’t been the case in the past.

When voters were told that mail-in voting was just “temporary” and then overnight it became permanent without meaningful public input. That wasn’t transparent. A later Assembly attempt to unilaterally impose ranked-choice voting engendered even more suspicion and cynicism of government processes.

When Juneau voters rejected new city offices and a huge, expensive new arts and culture center, they didn’t expect these items to continue to be top Assembly priorities. They expected that assumptions, rationale, and costs would be openly re-evaluated and corrective action taken.

That hasn’t happened.

As Juneau’s population and economy remained stagnant while the city budget continued to increase, living in Juneau has become even more unaffordable. Voters expected that city leaders would closely examine the budget, hold departments and programs accountable for results and consider trimming non-essential spending. When that didn’t happen, voters took to the streets and passed two initiatives to limit property tax increases and exempt food and utilities from sales taxes.

Yet, there’s little appetite by the CBJ Assembly to change course as they reflexively consider cutting basic services without a serious attempt to trim the large increase in discretionary grant spending accumulated over the years. What the city leaders fail to recognize is that taxpayers don’t object to writing checks to the city if the money is used effectively, efficiently, and gets results.

These aren’t examples of good governance.

What has been created by the lack of transparency and disregard for the public is an atmosphere of distrust and doubt surrounding every government action and announcement by CBJ.

Is it any wonder that civil discourse has become more heated? Would the opposition to Telephone Hill redevelopment been nearly as contentious or controversial if events leading up to it had been handled differently?

The secrecy and lack of transparency surrounding Juneau’s flood solution process is disappointing. But it’s a new year and there’s time to get it right. Voters are watching.

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.

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