A new Juneau advocacy group called the Affordable Juneau Coalition filed three local ballot petitions last week.
The group seeks to cap the property tax rate, remove sales tax on food and utilities, and make in-person voting the default again.
The city uses a mill rate to calculate how much property tax residents pay to the city. One mill is equal to $1 per $1000 in property value.
Right now, the city caps the mill rate at 12 mills. The new petition would drop it to nine mills, which could lower property taxes in the future for property owners. But lower taxes could mean the city would have less money to pay for services.
The petition to exempt essential food and residential utilities from sales tax could also save residents some money, but at a loss to the city. The city currently taxes food and utilities at 5%, which brings in a combined $10 to $12 million in revenue annually.
If voters pass the initiative, the city would likely have to cut back on spending to make up for the lost revenue. The Juneau Assembly considered removing sales tax on food in 2022, but ultimately decided against it.
The Juneau Assembly made by-mail voting the default in 2023. Last year, a group of residents tried unsuccessfully to repeal that ordinance.
The new petition filed this year seeks to amend the language in that same ordinance to make elections poll-based again instead of by-mail. The group cites increased cost to conduct elections and slower results as the reason behind the initiative, according to documents submitted to the city clerk’s office.
By-mail voting has been used by the city since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person voting is still available at city vote centers.
The city’s law department and the city clerk still need to review the three petitions. If they are approved, the Affordable Juneau Coalition has 30 days to gather just over 2,700 signatures for each petition to secure a spot on the ballot this October.
Another group also filed a petition early last week to put hard limits on cruise ship tourism’s growth.
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