District 1: Castimore: Work to be done on borough budget

  • By DAN CASTIMORE
  • Tuesday, September 26, 2017 8:50pm
  • Opinion

For the current year, the borough assembly passed a budget that spends $4.15 million more than it generates. Given the current savings account ending the year with $18 million, if this trend continues the savings account will be empty in less than 5 years. Clearly the borough has a money problem. After you take out all of the service areas and the transfers to education, the total budget for the general fund is only $18.15 million. This puts the deficit at around 22% for this year.

I don’t believe that we are going to cut our way out of this problem. Finding 22% to cut would be impossible unless entire departments are eliminated. While I agree that this is a possible solution, the problem is deciding which department needs to go. If we eliminate the landfill, which is the largest expense after education, people will be dumping trash all over the place. If we eliminate senior services then the seniors will be upset. Many of our departments are mandated by state law, such as planning and assessing. The only solution that I see is a moderate approach of reducing costs while also increasing revenue. Below I outline my ideas on reducing costs.

For the 2018 budget, $135,272 was budgeted to pay for health insurance for members of the assembly. When this policy was first implemented, health insurance was only a few thousand dollars per assembly member. Now that it has ballooned to around $15,000 per assembly member this benefit needs to be eliminated.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The borough contains a number of service areas such as Nikiski Fire, CES, the Road Service Area, etc. Up until 2010 all service areas were charged an administrative fee for the services they received such as human resources, information technology, finance, legal, risk management, and more. In 2010 a reduction to the administrative fee in the amount of approximately $1,000,000 was implemented. A note in that year’s budget indicated that because of revenue sharing from the state, the administrative fee would be eliminated. In the years since 2010 revenue sharing has dropped considerably, and will likely be completely gone in a few years. It is time for the administrative fee to come back. In a year when the general fund has a $4,152,000 deficit, Nikiski Fire and CES both had a reduction in their mil rate. This is because the general fund is subsidizing these service areas.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the agencies that receive borough funding, including the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council (KPTMC), Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (KPEDD), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The borough budgeted $465,000 in the FY18 to pay for these services, a 9.27% decrease from the prior year. As we go forward these services will once again be reevaluated. If a mil rate increase is needed to keep these programs alive I’m not sure the public will continue to support them.

More in Opinion

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

Courtesy/Chris Arend
Opinion: Protect Alaska renewable energy projects

The recently passed House budget reconciliation bill puts important projects and jobs at risk.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Finishing a session that will make a lasting impact

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Choosing our priorities wisely

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: As session nears end, pace picks up in Juneau

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: The fight for Alaska’s future begins in the classroom

The fight I’ve been leading isn’t about politics — it’s about priorities.

Dick Maitland, a foley artist, works on the 46th season of “Sesame Street” at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, Dec. 15, 2025. (Ariana McLaughlin/The New York Times)
Opinion: Trump’s embarrassing immaturity Republicans won’t acknowledge

Sullivan should be embarrassed by the ignorance and immaturity the president is putting on display for the world to see.

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: The Jones Act — crass protectionism, but for whom?

Alaska is dependent on the few U.S.-built ships carrying supplies from Washington state to Alaska.

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet are dragged up onto the beach at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Creating opportunities with better fishery management

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

The ranked choice outcome for Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is shown during an Alaska Public Media broadcast on Nov. 24, 2022. (Alaska Division of Elections)
Opinion: Alaska should keep ranked choice voting, but let’s make it easier

RCV has given Alaskans a better way to express their preferences.