Haines Borough manager Debra Schnabel recently increased the pay of police chief Heath Scott to more than $110,000 annually, making Scott the highest-paid police chief in borough history, by $33,000. (Bill Musser, the last, permanent chief previous to Scott, was paid $76,877, according to borough finance department.) Scott had been making $100,000 annually and getting $50,000 in benefits, and was…
Don’t be fooled. A ballot measure asking Haines Borough voters to expand police powers to the roaded boundaries of the municipality would give the borough power to tax residents in outlying areas for those times that townsite police choose to drive out there. Don’t let proponents of this change tell you otherwise. The power to deliver a service is the…
Simultaneous vacancies in three full-time Haines Borough jobs – planner, facilities director and grant writer – offer the community a chance to streamline staff and reshuffle priorities in an era of deep government cuts that historically supported our town. The assembly should act on this for several reasons including: 1) It’s very difficult to eliminate a position when it’s occupied,…
If you think a proposed charter change to formalize police service outside the Townsite of Haines is a rehash of a matter resolved by voters in last fall’s municipal election, you’re right. Like a zombie, attempts by the Haines Borough administration and its police department to expand police service outside the townsite just won’t die. This year’s proposal is a…
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H.L. Mencken I don’t blame junior assembly members Will Prisciandaro and Sean Maidy for wanting the borough to take over the trash business and to…
Former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, who was sometimes a visionary, said Alaska one day would be the OPEC of fresh water. Wally dreamed of a pipeline to carry Alaska’s water to the thirsty parts of the American West. His point was well-taken. Oil, as a commodity, is replaceable with new technologies. But there’s no substitute for fresh water. It’s the…
Two weeks ago, I felt compelled to contact the news media: I ate a juicy peach in Haines. My experience was purely accidental, as I don’t buy peaches at local stores. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy peaches as much as anyone, probably more, and I shop at home. But buying a ripe peach in Haines – or in Alaska,…
“This is the time to infuse government resources into nonprofit organizations to maintain critical public services.” Economic Report by Alaska’s Foraker Group, January 2018 If you think the Haines Borough won’t zero out grants to non-profits, you haven’t been watching lately. Non-profit funding, the amount of money the government sets aside for competitive grants to citizen groups…
I am learning to go on with my daily life despite corruption and imbecility in the White House. I am developing personal acceptance that all three branches of our federal government, much of our state government and oftentimes our local government are either directly controlled by or at the beck and call of selfish, malevolent interests. I’ve come to understand…
One day soon, the Haines Borough will need a pile of money and the best way to get it is taxation that taps into pockets of special interest wealth rather than broad-based taxes that are generally regressive, forcing all to pay an equal percentage of their money for services that are not enjoyed so equally. Exhibit A of these special…