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Problem Corner is an iconic radio show that has become a vibrant community hub. Callers engage in a wide array of discussions, ranging from local political debates to community commentary and casual advertisements for listeners looking to buy, sell, or trade personal items.
The show's rich history is marked by its association with several prominent local figures. Notably, Dennis Egan, a former mayor of Juneau, was a key personality in shaping the show's direction in the 1980s.
As a testament to its enduring relevance and appeal, "Problem Corner" has etched its name in the annals of Alaskan broadcasting history. It's not just a radio show but a cultural landmark, celebrated for being the longest-running radio show in Alaska.
Welcome to problem corner, Alaska's longest running radio show. Connect and discuss the topics important to Juneau and all of Southeast Alaska. Call (907) 586-1800, and subscribe to the podcast at kinyradio.com, powered by Princess Cruise Lines, Alaska Laundry and Dry Cleaning, and Juno Power Sports.
Speaker 2:And good morning. Good Friday morning.
Speaker 3:I know. We switched things up today with KE Bosler on a Friday instead of Thursday.
Speaker 2:You know it, Justin. Justin, it's great to see you again. I haven't been here for quite a while.
Speaker 3:I know. We missed you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, I managed to be in California for the entire time we had California weather.
Speaker 3:Oh wow.
Speaker 2:I don't know if that's a complaint but a lot of family and actually my dad ended up in the hospital which was one of the reasons I had kind of an extended stay but he's back and we already have a couple calls.
Speaker 3:All right let's get him on the show.
Speaker 2:Okay. Good morning you're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 4:Still have my things for sale.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:So I can leave my number if they want to find out what I have and I can call they can call me at (907) 957-1673.
Speaker 2:Okay. Thanks for calling.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Have a good weekend.
Speaker 4:Watch the wind out there, it's gonna get windy.
Speaker 3:Oh yes.
Speaker 2:You're not kidding. Yeah really coming down.
Speaker 4:It's a good time to take out a kite and have fun.
Speaker 2:Okay be safe. Again, that's (907) 957-1672 for that gentleman's items which I think include DVDs.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've kind of coined him the movie guy but he's also got a bike for sale from the last I've talked with him.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, there you go. We have another call. Good morning. You're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 5:Good morning. I think I got two topics. I was wondering, yesterday, were they were they talking about Tom Jack senior from WUNA?
Speaker 3:Yeah. That was part of the conversation yesterday.
Speaker 5:Oh, I am I'm I'm an old fisherman. I I met that gentleman in early nineties, and we were fishing over there for a summer. And I I I never met a finer gentleman than him, and I hadn't heard from him or nothing in years. And I just vaguely heard that name, and I and I I I couldn't believe it. And and then my second thing was you had a tire for sale last week, and my friend has got a flat tire, and said, did you have the phone number of that?
Speaker 5:Would you happen to have the phone number of that person who were selling that tire, 2515?
Speaker 3:I have to look at my notes. I think I might have that written down somewhere. So maybe after our commercial break, I could find that written down somewhere, and I could shout it out over the airwaves.
Speaker 5:I really appreciate that. And that's the thing about Tom Jackson. I'm really sorry to hear that. He was a fine gentleman.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well
Speaker 5:You know, I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 4:Mhmm.
Speaker 5:And you folks had a fine day now.
Speaker 3:You as well.
Speaker 2:You too, take care. And we have another call. Good morning, you're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 6:Good morning. I still have the Nissan Pathfinder. She runs. She just doesn't drive. Her transmission went out five months after I bought her.
Speaker 6:She's in excellent condition. We're looking for a thousand dollars or best offer, just no low balls because she's in such good shape. Second thing is my Siamese cat went missing about ten days ago, and then we had all of this bad weather. Hoping she would come back, but she hasn't come back yet.
Speaker 4:She's been at
Speaker 6:the off Halof and Tongass.
Speaker 3:Okay. Halof and Tongass.
Speaker 6:On the Halof site.
Speaker 2:Halof and Tongass, missing Siamese cat. Okay.
Speaker 6:Yeah. She's a Siamese. She's a small brown Siamese. She's got beautiful hazel green eyes. Her name is Thumbelina.
Speaker 6:Thumbelina. Evenly recognizable. She's polydactyl on all four feet.
Speaker 2:And how long has she been gone?
Speaker 6:About ten days now.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sorry. Right and what is your
Speaker 6:Phone number is 500-8041.
Speaker 2:(907) 500-8041.
Speaker 6:Yes, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for calling. Okay, so that's (907) 500-8041. If you're interested in a Nissan Pathfinder, no transmission.
Speaker 3:Yes, but I remember calling on that and it's great physical, like cosmetically condition, it looks good, but yeah, it needs a new transmission.
Speaker 2:Okay, and we also sadly have a Siamese cat named Thumbelina who's been missing for about ten days from this person's cat, missing around the Halof And Tongass area of the valley. Again that's (907) 500-8041 and we have another call. Good morning, you're on problem.
Speaker 4:Good morning.
Speaker 2:Hello? You're
Speaker 4:on problem
Speaker 2:corner. Hello. Hello.
Speaker 4:I just want to give my condolences out to Lance Caesar's family. Somebody I went to school with. She passed away last night. Oh.
Speaker 2:Oh, sorry.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 3:Are they a Juno local family or are they out of town of Juno?
Speaker 4:Well, his mother was a teacher here.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 4:Her name was Miss Teaser. She was a teacher at Harborview. Family owns the insurance. Some some I forget what it's called. Out there.
Speaker 4:They get on the garage. They take care of people's cars for them, fix them.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 4:And then they're answering them. And I just wanted to say my condolences to them and I got a lot to say about it but I just don't want to say it right now. Just want to say my condolences. Well
Speaker 2:that's very thoughtful of you. Thank you for calling with your condolences for Lance Caesar's family.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And then that thing on yesterday about this fellow calling in and saying something about the city of Merrillville, and nobody having jurisdiction. You to look at the name of the property here. It says Klingit territory. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:So I think they were talking about yesterday about Thomas Jack or whatever in jurisdiction. It was like
Speaker 7:they
Speaker 4:didn't want nobody having nothing to say over nothing, but a lot does go on here and a lot does not ever be told to a lot of folks that's going on. Mhmm. So and a lot of the nepotism that goes through a lot of the programs here and a lot of stuff that goes on here, and it's not a change, especially the justice system. Yeah. It's cruel, and unusual, very, very rude the way we handle people and they treat you as if you're guilty before you're innocent.
Speaker 4:You're innocent. Never innocent till proven guilty. People are inept to the way the laws are, and some people don't even have a chance to speak for themselves because there's so much duress because of the stuff that goes on around here. Losing their homes, losing their families, and nobody's there able to speak on what's going on. And nobody wants to listen to them because of them being in duress.
Speaker 4:It's pretty tough when someone loses a member of their family or loses their kids or loses their home, and nobody wants to listen to them talking about it because it's hard to make sense from what someone's talking about when they're in that much stress.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 4:Or take that chance to listen to somebody and try to make it past what they're going through, It's easier to listen to somebody than it is to walk away from unleashing without nothing.
Speaker 2:That's a great reminder. Thank you so much for that.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Thanks.
Speaker 2:Well, you take care. And we do have another call. Good morning. You're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 8:Good morning. I'd like to send out my condolences to the Lance Caesar family. They're around.
Speaker 2:Thank you for another condolence to go out to the Lance Caesar family. Thank you for calling. Well, Justin, we have an election coming up.
Speaker 4:We do.
Speaker 2:And today's a big day, do you know why?
Speaker 3:Because our ballots got mailed out, right?
Speaker 2:Exactly, they've been mailed to all registered voters and ballot drop boxes are open to receive ballots. The deadline to vote by mail or in person at a vote center is October 7. And in the second half of the program today, we're gonna have as a guest a former assembly member, Michelle Hale we're gonna talk about the three propositions that citizens of the CBJ are being asked to vote on. There's a lot of information out there, two of the ballot initiatives, one and two are the result of citizens initiatives. Prop one caps the mill rate and prop two exempt sales tax on food and utilities.
Speaker 2:Then the assembly came up with a response to that to kind of even things out I guess. Proposition three is in response to the two citizens' initiatives and it seeks to initiate a higher sales tax during cruise ship season. So there's been a lot of op eds over the last couple of weeks in the Geno Independent, the Geno Empire, there's been a lot of really strong media coverage, including of course by the KINY Newsroom about these initiatives, about these propositions. So looking forward to talking to Michelle in the second half of the program. But in the meantime folks, if you have anything to say or sell, please give us a call at (987) 586-1800.
Speaker 2:You can always email us at kinyradio dot com, go Problem Corner to the drop down there and you can fill out the form. So we do know that the rain is crazy out there and actually there was a pretty scary landslide on Gastineau Avenue.
Speaker 3:Yeah, heard that.
Speaker 2:Two days ago, the day before yesterday.
Speaker 3:I think so, yeah. Was when we had that gnarly windstorm.
Speaker 2:Right. But that's one of those parts of Southeast Alaska that's definitely a hot zone as it were for landslide potential. And there have been deadly landslides there over the last hundred years, fatal landslides. So wanna keep an eye on that. So we do have another call.
Speaker 3:Oh, sweet.
Speaker 2:Good morning, you're on problem corner.
Speaker 8:Well, thank you, good morning. Just gonna touch base relative to due diligence by the city relative to returning phone calls when you leave voice mail messages on the voice mail after you go through the voice mail tree, particularly, in this case, the fire department trying to talk to the EMS captain, and that was a week and a half ago. I never got a return call. So that's packed just during normal business hours. I even went so far as to just drive down there because no one picked up the phone.
Speaker 8:Mhmm. Should be able to have a public access during normal business hours to that department. And the other thing is during assembly meetings, it would be good if the city clerk had a clock clock, meaning the time expired. I in my last attending a assembly meeting, it ended up to where I got cut short, I felt. And first of they cut it short, and I thought it was if you have an agenda item, non agenda items, you you're normally given three minutes.
Speaker 8:And if they, on the fly, cut it back to two I mean, in the in the in the meeting notes, it states three minutes. It doesn't state two minutes. And I think that they should adhere to that. Otherwise, you're cutting out the public's input relative to live face constituent being in front of you expressing their concerns for three minutes. If it if it takes a little bit longer in a meeting, so what?
Speaker 8:That's what you're there for hired elected to be representing your constituency.
Speaker 2:Well that's hard too if you come prepared for three minutes.
Speaker 8:Well, exactly. So that's precisely what had happened to me. And so then I, you know, got cut short but I had a sidebar after the meeting with the police chief. And, thankfully, he listened for to meet my talking points on the side sidebar for twenty minutes, and I appreciated that. And but I've got issues, of course, with if you look at the body cam videos, I think our EMS services are lacking, and I hate to see it.
Speaker 8:I I would never, a medic, do what those medics did on scene at that place. And I think everybody is it behooves you to go look at the videos, particularly between minutes thirteen and fifteen.
Speaker 2:Okay. And what are you referring to specifically?
Speaker 8:This is Chris Williams getting souffle ed on his head on the front of the city, the Douglas Library by the patrol officer that resigned just before they released the body cam videos. But it is posted by the city, and everybody should review it just to kind of follow what I'm trying to point I'm trying to make relative to excessive force violation of constitutional rights and lacking EMS protocol services required guidelines.
Speaker 2:Okay, well thank you for that reminder and I guess people would go to cbj.gov I believe.
Speaker 8:To get the body cam video, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 8:I think it would behoove everybody in the community to see that and kind of which way is the pendulum swinging, know, and it seems to be going the long way at this point in my eyes. And thank you for the time. I'll let someone else call.
Speaker 3:Of course.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for calling. Alright, it looks like we are just about at the half hour and just for those of you just tuning in this is Katie Bosler. I'm back hosting Problem Corner today Friday. Thursday is my usual day but happy to be here and today, September 19, ballots have been mailed to all registered voters. The ballot drop boxes are open to receive ballots.
Speaker 2:You can go to a vote center and vote. So if those of you who are registered voters, you probably received, I think probably everybody, all the postal customers get a voter information guide from the CBJ. And you know what, is one of those things you kind of look at and your eyes might glaze over going, all this information. But guess what? It's really important stuff and I think what Michelle, Helen and I are trying to do in the second half of the program today is just sort of give you the basics here so you can figure it out for yourself and see how you want to vote on these issues.
Speaker 2:So I think it's time to go to our news break.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We'll be back with more problem corner here on KINY.
Speaker 2:All right. Thanks, Justin.
Speaker 1:This is KINY Juno, local owned and operated. KINY, the news you need, the music you love.
Speaker 9:ABC News. I'm Michelle Franzen. The CDC vaccine advisory panel continues to meet, and it will take up a vote on vaccine schedules for children today. They're expected to take a vote on COVID 19 doses. Yesterday, the panel recommended separating the long combined MMRV vaccine and restricted the ages who should receive it.
Speaker 9:ABC's Steve O'Sansami has more.
Speaker 10:The panel decided to separate the chickenpox vaccine from the widely used combination vaccine that fights the measles, mumps, and rubella, meaning that children will need another shot for their first dose, explaining that this slightly lowers the risk of possible seizures experienced by some children getting the vaccine.
Speaker 9:The house passed a short term government funding bill ahead of the shutdown deadline at the end of the month. The senate, though, failing to advance several measures due to lack of support. Security preparations underway in Phoenix ahead of Sunday's memorial. Service planned for conservative influencer Charlie Cook. He was shot and killed last week.
Speaker 9:This is ABC News.
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Speaker 14:Hi. I'm Nana Brooks, and I'm running for Juno Assembly. Juno is the best city. We have the best wilderness, the best opportunities, and most of best people. I believe the best people deserve the best representation, but we have a with priorities that have skyrocketed the cost of living while leaving too many residents feeling unheard, not considered, and underserved.
Speaker 14:This is causing more of our family, friends, and neighbors to leave. It's time for something better. It's time for the people to always come first and most. It's time to say no to the status quo and vote for Nano between September 19 and October 7 by mail or in person. Together with your votes and support, we can make sure the city works best way for the best people.
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Speaker 17:At Western Auto Marine, you'll find everything you need to replace that old fishing net and upgrade your reel with the best gear available. Check out Western Auto Marine's latest collection of combo rods and reels, plus get your outdoor platters in Western Auto Marine. Perfect for transplanting seedlings as nature comes alive this season. And don't forget to take a look at the super range of veggie and flower seeds. Even the little ones can join in on the adventure with the hottest kids extra toughs.
Speaker 17:Western Auto Marine, what you need when you need it.
Speaker 18:This is Debbie White, Southeast Alaska Real Estate and Maintenance. You should come see us at our new office next to Napa. We have nine licensees, and we also have a construction crew. So not only can we help you buy a house, we can also help you make it into your dream home. Check out our website, www.isellalaska.com.
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Speaker 17:Gas lines can be buried anywhere, so remember to call 911 and Southwest Gas.
Speaker 11:This is the story of the one. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on
Speaker 12:the products and supplies he needs,
Speaker 11:from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers. All so that he can help students, staff, and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call +1 800 click granger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done.
Speaker 1:Now back to problem corner where our community meets to talk, trade and share.
Speaker 2:And welcome back to Problem Corner again. Yes, it's Friday, this is Katie Bosler here with Justin Miller.
Speaker 4:Hello.
Speaker 2:Hello and we do have Michelle Hale in the house, we're gonna talk propositions in a minute but first I do have a call. Good morning, you're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 19:Morning. Alexa, turn your volume off.
Speaker 6:Hello?
Speaker 19:Hi. How are you?
Speaker 2:Good. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 19:Good morning. I have two sleeping cots. We used them for the weekend and a small Apple iPad. I have two freestanding birdcages. I have a battery charger and a large two panel mirror headboard, two air mattresses, and a glass desk and chair.
Speaker 19:For those items, you can call 419-1034.
Speaker 3:+1 034?
Speaker 19:031.
Speaker 3:31. Gotcha.
Speaker 2:Okay well thank you for calling.
Speaker 3:Lots of different items.
Speaker 19:Thank you have a good day.
Speaker 3:Of course you too.
Speaker 2:Alright and that number again is?
Speaker 3:(907) 419-1031.
Speaker 2:Okay well we have about twenty minutes left in the show and we are going to talk about the propositions and you know this was really just inspired by myself looking at the voter information pamphlet here from the city that everybody got in the mail and going, I think I want to just break this down and talk to somebody about it. Somebody who might have been on the assembly in the past like Michelle Hale. Hi Katie. Hi. But we do have a call and let me just take that.
Speaker 2:Hello you're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 5:Yeah. How are you? How are doing today?
Speaker 2:Good. How are you?
Speaker 8:Oh, not bad. On a sec. Yeah. I got a couple items. I have a Subaru Impreza.
Speaker 8:It's a 02/2007. It's kinda rough shape, but it runs good. It's got new tags on it, new tires. I'm taking 1,500 or best offer on that. And I also got the $2.35 75 r 15.
Speaker 8:They're light truck tires. They'll fit, like, a Toyota or a Nissan, you know, like a smaller truck. Or it's also the full size. You have the right rims. But the number on those items are 504607.
Speaker 3:4607. Alright. You guys have a good day. You as well.
Speaker 2:You too. Thanks
Speaker 3:for Alright. Thanks.
Speaker 4:Bye.
Speaker 2:Okay. And now let's get to our discussion about the propositions. So the citizens of CBJ are being asked to vote on three propositions for this October. The mail in ballots have been mailed and ready to be taken by the city. So propositions one and two are result of citizens initiatives and prop one caps the mill rate and prop two exempts sales tax on food and utilities.
Speaker 2:Proposition three is in response to the two citizens' initiatives and it seeks to initiate a higher sales tax during cruise ship season. So Michelle, you have been taking a close look at these propositions and what are your thoughts on them? How they could impact our city revenue stream?
Speaker 20:So these are all things that we've dealt with extensively when I was on the Assembly and the Assembly deals with all the time. The first that I'd like to talk about is proposition one, which is the mill rate cap. That has me gravely concerned because when the assembly is setting its budget, it has to balance revenue with expenditures and the revenue comes from a variety of sources. One is sales tax, one is property tax and interest and other things. And the property tax is composed of basically the mill rate times the assessed value.
Speaker 20:And right now assessed values are pretty high. But if the assessed values go down and the mill rate is capped at 9%, then the assembly is handcuffed and is to be able to raise the revenue that they need to run the government.
Speaker 2:And those taxes, 50% of them go to pay for education.
Speaker 20:That's right.
Speaker 2:Right? And about 40% for roads and fire protection.
Speaker 20:That's right.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of basic stuff
Speaker 19:around here.
Speaker 20:It's basic stuff. And you know the city in their voter pamphlet I think estimated that if the mill rate is capped in FY '27, the next fiscal year, we would lose that the city would lose a million dollars in revenue. And that's not too hugely concerning. The city can usually figure out how to make that up. Mhmm.
Speaker 20:What's really concerning is the future when an essential budgeting tool is no longer there and the city is knee capped in its efforts to actually set a budget. So that's my biggest concern for the future. And I
Speaker 2:think it's also worth noting that commercial businesses pay one third of all property taxes. The top three being Keckla Greens Creek, Kearlaska and AEL And P.
Speaker 20:That's right. And it's also noting if you look at tax caps across the nation, California's Proposition 13 is famous.
Speaker 2:Oh, I was a kid in California when that went down.
Speaker 20:Yep. And it's estimated that the benefit from Proposition 75% of the benefit goes to commercial property owners, wildly benefits people with higher income and higher expensive properties, know, properties that are more expensive. And that tends to be the case with property tax caps. The benefit goes to those with more money and to commercial interests. And we do have
Speaker 2:a call. Good morning. You're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 4:Hello?
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 8:Yes. Hey. I just wanted to make sure people really understood how this property tax cap works because Please. It doesn't cap the property taxes per se. Like, you're talking about with proposition 13, that caps your taxes.
Speaker 8:It freezes them at whatever level you're at. It does not allow them to escalate. And we had a a gentleman write into the the paper, independent, the I don't know what it was the other day, saying that same sort of thing. So new property owners would be paying more property tax than people existing property owners, and that is not how this works. What this does is this fixes the mill rate basically about where it is right now.
Speaker 8:It was actually at less than 9 mils before they decided to bump it up to 9.1 or whatever it is now. It basically freezes the mill rate, but it does not cap the property taxes. If inflation sets in and costs rise, your assessments will rise accordingly, and that will take care of the inflation aspect. What this simply does is it makes the city maintain the status quo. Don't don't expand their operations.
Speaker 8:Don't expand their base. It it may basically says, keep the taxation rate where it is. But like I say, if values go up, costs go up, your your assessments will go up, and that will offset that. Now if some extraordinary things happen or even non extraordinary, if we have other projects or needs, this does not prevent the citizens from approving bonds to pay for those things. This thing about the 10.14, well, one point whatever that is of that is bond issues, which you you cannot regulate those, you know, with an issue like this.
Speaker 8:You cannot prevent people from indebting themselves. So it it allows the bonding ability to continue. So if the city has needs, they can bond for them and we can pay for them. But it just doesn't allow rampant expansion of government which for some folks think that's where we're at.
Speaker 2:But doesn't it hamstring the revenue stream? It's just the basic revenue stream for like the pool and and the parks and rec and
Speaker 5:No.
Speaker 8:No. It does not. It keeps it exactly where it is right now and like I say, if costs escalate, so will your assessments, and it will maintain parity.
Speaker 20:Katie? Yes. Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 20:So the the the is no status quo with the economy and there is no status quo with finances. So I had this discussion yesterday when I was doing a forum on this initiative. That's why it's important to be able to set mill rate and and you know really understand and change the revenue stream as needed. There is no status quo. The caller is absolutely right.
Speaker 20:It doesn't freeze property taxes. It freezes the mill rate and so it removes that flexibility. And while right now property assessments are on pace with inflation, that's not guaranteed. It's not guaranteed that that's going be the case. So assessed values could go down and then being unable to change that mill rate means that there will be less revenue.
Speaker 20:So that really does hamstring the city. But I'd like to move on and talk about propositions two and three because I know we don't have a whole lot of time.
Speaker 2:Alright. Caller, thank you so I
Speaker 8:guess I'd like to interject on proposition three and I hope that the word gets out that it's actually a tax increase. That's my first point. It actually increases our our property tax or our our sales tax by a quarter of a percent or more. And it's actually gonna be more because it's a sad fact that we all spend more money in the summer than we do in the winter. So everybody in Juneau is gonna end up paying more in sales tax than they do right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But we
Speaker 8:also And just an interesting side note on that. We're talking about that this is gonna be paid for by the tourist industry. But if you look at their ship schedules, it appears to me that we are gonna have few or no ships coming in in April, and yet we're gonna be paying that in tax rate in April. So I think a lot of this is very disingenuous. So I'll I'll get out of your hair, but, yeah, I I think it's pretty I I think the people that do their homework are gonna find out they're gonna vote yes, yes, no.
Speaker 8:Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:I really appreciate your call, thank you so much. Alright so we do have another view here on some of this. As far as what I understand with proposition three, this is meant to capitalize on the cruise season and we raised the tax to 7.5% during cruise ship season which we've been scratching, my husband and have been scratching our heads for years, know why not meet Skagway, Sitka, They all raise their sales tax during cruise season in order to capitalize on that population and that crew. So that's the buying power of up to 2,000,000 cruise passengers and crew and what's balanced it out from October to March in the winter, it's 3%. So it seems like it all kind of balances out and from what I understand from the voter information from the city, it says estimates a potential savings of a few $100 a year per resident per year.
Speaker 20:Right. That's the estimate and obviously you make estimates and then you know reality sets in. But people have talked about well I do construction during the summer. Well, if you're doing construction that needs a building permit, then you get a break from your sales tax for that building permit, for the work that's covered by the building permit. But I'd like to talk a little bit about my path on this.
Speaker 20:Yes. Proposition two exempts food and utilities from sales tax and that's considered a pretty progressive thing to do with sales taxes and it benefits people with lower incomes on a proportional basis more than people with higher incomes. So, in my heart, I support that idea. But my concern about voting for Proposition two my concern about Proposition two is that it takes $10,000,000 out of the city revenue stream. Between 9 and 10 and 11,000,000 is what they estimate.
Speaker 20:We can just use 10 as a round number. And there are a lot of people who are understandably concerned, like the caller, about proposition three. We also don't know exactly how that's going to shake out. So, proposition two without proposition three means that the city starts to lose $10,000,000 next year. I initially would have said to vote no on one.
Speaker 20:I think everybody should vote no on the first proposition because it really does hamstring the the city assembly on a with a very basic budget setting tool. And initially, I thought we should vote yes for two and three. But now, where I'm at, because it's so confusing, I am advocating that we vote on all three of them. These are things that can be brought to the assembly. These are things that we can do in a more measured way than with this very confusing basket of ballot measures now.
Speaker 20:I have changed and I have been I have flip flopped from where I was twenty four hours ago. And I am advocating now no on all three. It's too confusing. The more I talk to people about this, the more I realize it's just massively confusing. Let's just not pass any of these, stay with the status quo and find other mechanisms to affect these taxes.
Speaker 2:So back to the drawing board.
Speaker 20:Go back to the drawing board, work with the assembly. The assembly has worked on both the sales tax exemption and on the seasonal sales tax. So let's look at that in a more measured fashion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's unfortunate because there's been a lot of work on behalf of Affordable Juno who got these put on the ballot and then we had the city response and on the surface it makes sense but then when you look into the details it does get a bit confusing.
Speaker 20:It's really confusing. Yeah I mean any one of them separately maybe makes sense but it's really confusing. And the package as a whole puts the city at great risk.
Speaker 2:And we do have a call. Great morning. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 8:Yeah. I heard the other person that was just on saying, vote no. Write down the ballot. I'm with them. When I talked to some of these, you know, affordable Juno folks, god bless them for their effort, but when you get into the nuts and bolts of it, you know, I don't know that cutting funding to glory hall or, you know, various other groups that provide services to our community is a really smart thing.
Speaker 8:And they really don't have an answer to how is the community supposed to respond to the, community's responsibilities with our flooding. And I just don't think that we need a public vote or public referendum every time we have a flood, and we need to do things that are above and beyond what the cap offers. Offers. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you for your call. And we do have another call. Hello, you're on problem corner.
Speaker 8:Yes, good morning. Thanks for your program. Thanks for taking the call. I'll be very brief. Know, the earlier caller talking about voting yes on one and two and no on three did a lot more thorough job than than I can do, and I I shouldn't take a lot of your time.
Speaker 8:But I have to say, everybody I've spoken with agrees and and volunteers, we'd all be idiots if we think that this runaway assembly that just spends money willy nilly on everything and then don't know why it did it, like with the tram and and and their telephone hill plans. You know, it naturally, this assembly is gonna find a reason to have that seven and a half percent be year round. They're gonna come up with a new performing arts center or some crises based on the flooding or something, you know, we won't see this seasonal thing last long at all when it'll be twelve months at seven and a half percent. I mean, just look at that track record of the assembly. That's all I got to say.
Speaker 8:Thank you very much, thanks for your program.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you for calling. And you know I think the assembly has a really tough job. I mean there's so many wants and needs in this community like all communities and when you add a glacier release flood and issues with the ways we recreate in this town and how the city subsidizes that, it's a lot and we do have one more call. Good morning. You're on problem corner.
Speaker 4:Well, good morning. There'll be a few folks. Been wait waiting for this question. Earlier this year, we lost KJ and O when the power went out six to eight weeks. How long is it gonna be out this time?
Speaker 3:I was not aware that KJNO was off air.
Speaker 4:Okay. Well, now you know.
Speaker 3:I will look into that after the program today.
Speaker 4:Yep. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 3:No problem. Thank you. Thanks for calling. I wonder if their power surge did something to our transmitter again. I really hope not but I will I will get with my engineer and we'll we'll it.
Speaker 3:I'll look into that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And add to that power surges. Add to that
Speaker 20:power surges. So, Katie, if I could speak a little bit to the need for flexibility and the complications of assembly's job. What I found is that people are always willing to point to some project that they don't like and say, well, the city shouldn't spend money on that. Well, me tell you, for everything that the city does, there is a strong and vocal group of people that don't like it. Everything.
Speaker 20:So, it's on both sides.
Speaker 2:So, That's democracy works.
Speaker 20:That's how how democracy works and that's why it's a hard job being on the assembly. If I could speak to the need for flexibility in the budget and people have also pointed to having a budget reserve which is at $20,000,000 Let me tell you, did that ever come in handy when COVID hit? Right? We did get money from the federal government but initially we didn't have it. We were first community in the state to issue child care grants so we were able to be fast and flexible because we had that budget reserve.
Speaker 20:Same thing where we have been able to be flexible with the floods and that's just really important. As we have, I I spoke to a relative down in Petersburg, they're expecting six inches of rain today in the next twenty four hours which will be catastrophic no matter what. There will be landslides. This keeps happening. So, to not have that flexibility for the Assembly, I mean, that is the Assembly's job to be able to respond to what's happening in the city, listen to citizens and then make the best decision they can.
Speaker 20:And what would say is if you think the assembly is not doing the job right then run. Or get somebody that you want up there on the dais and run.
Speaker 2:And we do have an election coming up. And we do. And folks if you want more information about that election you can go to juno.org/clerk/elections or just Google it you know City and Borough Juno Elections. The page will come up. It's chock full of information and yeah you can vote by mail but you can also go to vote centers.
Speaker 2:They're listed on the website. If you're out of town they have a solution for you. It's right there. You can have your ballot emailed or faxed to you. You need to apply by Monday October 6 by 5PM.
Speaker 2:So there's all kinds of ways to vote and we do have another call. Great. Good morning. You're on Problem Corner.
Speaker 7:Hey. Good morning. I have a quiz for you. What do these things have in common? The Burns Building as the new location for city hall, the gondola, the demolition of the homes up on Capitol Hill.
Speaker 7:What do those have in common?
Speaker 2:I'm stumped. My goodness.
Speaker 19:They're
Speaker 7:all being without the vote of the people, against people's will, it seems to me the city is over collecting on taxes. And so the gondola was built without us saying anything, and it's gonna cost millions and millions and millions.
Speaker 2:Well, that's actually a partnership with Gold Belt so that was
Speaker 7:It is.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's a partnership with Gold Belt. Gold
Speaker 7:Belt Gold Belt's not doing that for free, is it? We we're gonna owe money to them at the end of the day. So I think that the fact that the Burns Building can floors can be purchased and renovated, even though we voted against getting a new city hall, tells me we're being overtaxed right now. And so people really need to think about where they really wanna do proposition three and vote yesterday because already they're being overtaxed. Thanks for your program and thanks for being there.
Speaker 7:Take care.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for calling. Okay we have just about a minute left of the show. I've got one more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if we keep it brief.
Speaker 2:One more call. Hi. Real quick, you're on Problem Corner just about noon.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Yeah. I'd I'd like to comment. I I agree with the other two gentlemen that yes, yes, no because the city tends to spend money like it's going out of style, like it's someone else's money. The the the citizens voted down city hall twice.
Speaker 5:You know, after the first one, the assessments after the first no vote, the assessments went up, I think, like, 16%, and they dropped the mill rate, like, four. You know? And now they're buying two two floors of the the permanent fund building rather than use one of the schools, which would have brought a lot of the the offices of the city like Floyd Dryden. You know? I mean Okay.
Speaker 5:Tearing down Telephone Hill. There's your 9,000,000 $910,000,000 shortfall buying the gondola. Citizens are tired of the way the assembly's acting.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, thank you for your call, appreciate your input. And
Speaker 5:that's why this came up, this initiative was brought in.
Speaker 2:Okay. Thank you. Thanks so much for calling.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sorry, we've hit our time.
Speaker 2:We're just at noon, it's just noon. Thanks again. Okay, so Michelle but you are voting. No, no, no. Okay, no on all three propositions from Michelle Hell, Farmer Assembly member.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you to Justin. Of course. Thank you to all our listeners and everybody have a great weekend. Thank you.
Speaker 2:And more Problem Corner on Monday.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us on problem corner, Alaska's longest running radio show. Keep the conversation going and stay connected to the issues that matter most to Juneau and Southeast Alaska. Miss of today's show? Subscribe to the podcast at kinyradio.com. Problem corner is powered by Princess Cruise Lines, Alaska Laundry and Dry Cleaning, and Juneau Powersports.