Joe Geldhof: Vote no on Juneau’s Propositions B and C

By JOE GELDHOF, FRANK BERGSTROM, & ANGELA RODELL

Sept. 14, 2026 – In 2025, the three of us worked with citizens across our community to begin making Juneau more affordable. Together we got the ball rolling.

Juneau voters adopted two sensible measures. One eliminated the local sales tax on groceries and residential utilities. The other capped the operating portion of the property tax mill rate at 9 mills, down from 12.  Now, the Assembly cannot quietly increase property taxes without asking voters first.

The 5 percent tax on groceries and utility bills disappeared, putting real money back in Juneau households’ pockets every month.

Instead of looking for structural ways to make Juneau more affordable, and more aggressively promoting projects to grow the economy, most CBJ Assembly members responded by wailing about lost revenue and creating a climate of fear.

Real economizing never happened. Prior to last October’s vote, the CBJ appropriated $5.5 million for Telephone Hill site prep — money still not needed since the project is on hold. We spent $18 million on new city hall quarters that voters twice rejected, and repaid Goldbelt roughly $9.4 million in principal and interest — more than the $7.2 million drawn down — to unwind its $10 million loan for the Eaglecrest gondola.

Millions more went out the door in grants. Still, the CBJ sits on roughly $300 million in investments that throw off about $15 million a year in interest. Does that suggest our government has run out of money or just refused to set priorities?

Rather than set spending priorities, the Assembly put out a familiar list of horrors – warnings of closed pools, a darkened ice rink and widespread cuts to services. Juneau residents packed Assembly chambers pleading for their pool, rink, and trails.

None of those cuts happened. The CBJ found the money to keep recreational facilities open, for now.

The revenue collapse that the fear campaign predicted never happened.  CBJ had projected losing $10 million to $12 million a year from the grocery and utility exemptions alone. Yet, the city’s finance director told the Assembly that sales tax collections came in about $6 million better than that. Some of that was rising fuel prices tied to the Iran war, but Juneau’s economy was also genuinely growing. Private-sector employment hit records, and tourism, mining and healthcare jobs were all up.

The CBJ’s budget already built in an assumption for inflation on the expense side, and the Assembly still found room to approve new labor contracts. If CBJ can absorb rising costs and hand out raises while its own revenue projections were still millions too pessimistic, it can absorb voter-approved tax cuts without reaching for new taxes.

It takes time to right-size government, and the last thing this community should be doing now is raising taxes. But that is exactly what will happen if voters approve Propositions B and C this October.

Proposition C adds a new 1% sales tax from April through September. It is a different design than the seasonal sales tax Juneau voters rejected by nearly 1,500 votes last October, but it rests on a similar idea: that taxing this community more for part of the year is necessary.

Proposition B would blow up the operating mill rate cap voters just approved, raising it from 9 mills to 12 — a 33 percent increase — and opening the door to higher property tax bills for every homeowner in Juneau, with renters impacted too.

The CBJ has repeatedly overestimated expenses and underestimated revenues. Year after year, the result is millions in carry-forward cash. While there are accounting reasons for this – the underlying reality is CBJ collects more tax revenue than it spends.

Juneau voters already answered this question last October. They chose no tax on groceries and utilities, capped the mill rate, and held the line on new taxes. Propositions B and C ask us to reverse course just one year later, before the Assembly has shown it can live within a budget Juneau residents can afford.

Our community cannot tax its way into affordability. A seasonal sales tax will make gas, home repairs and everyday purchases more expensive. A higher mill rate cap opens the door to higher property taxes and higher housing costs.

The CBJ has the resources to keep our recreational facilities maintained without reaching back into your pocket. What is missing is the discipline voters asked for last October.

To keep the affordability ball rolling, vote NO on Propositions B & C.

Joe Geldhof has been paying Juneau taxes since 1979. Frank Bergstrom is a retired miner with experience in project development, operations, and closure, plus consulting, and contracting. Angela Rodell is the former CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation and a former Alaska Commissioner of Revenue. Frank, Angela and Joe worked with dozens of Juneau citizens to draft and pass the 2025 initiatives that eliminated the CBJ sales tax on groceries and utilities and capped the mill rate at 9.