Juneau voters decide Tuesday on sales tax renewal, property tax cap and summer sales tax

Juneau voters decide by 8 pm Tuesday, Oct. 6, whether to renew the city's 3% temporary sales tax for five more years. The same ballot asks whether to raise the property tax cap back to 12 mills and whether to add a summer sales tax for recreation.

Two of the three questions return to issues voters settled in last year's election. A year ago, voters cut the property tax cap from 12 mills to 9. They also rejected a seasonal sales tax, 5,853 to 4,365, but a different one: it would have replaced the permanent 1% and temporary 3% taxes with 2% from October through March and 6.5% from April through September.

Secure drop boxes and in-person voting at City Hall and the Mendenhall Valley library are open until 8 pm Tuesday.

Proposition A: the 3% sales tax

Proposition A would extend the 3% temporary sales tax from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2032. The total city sales tax would stay at 5%. That total includes a permanent 1% and a separate temporary 1% that expires in September 2028.

The city estimates that renewing the tax would generate about $34 million a year. If voters reject it, the city expects to lose that $34 million annually, with about $23 million less for general services like police, fire and libraries and about $11 million less for capital projects such as roads and drainage work, according to the city's ballot proposition FAQ.

The ballot summary for Proposition A omits the word "services," which the city says does not change what voters are deciding.

Proposition B: the property tax cap

Proposition B is a citizen charter amendment. It would raise the cap on property tax the Assembly can levy without a public vote from 9 mills to 12. Debt service on general obligation bonds would remain outside the cap. The actual annual mill rate would still be set by the Assembly even if the cap rises.

The 12-mill cap stood from 1995 until last year. In 2025, voters approved a charter amendment from the Affordable Juneau Coalition that lowered the cap to 9 mills, 5,163 to 5,006. The coalition's petition said property taxes weigh heavily on living costs for renters and owners.

This year's petition, which lists Patrick Race as its contact, says reducing the cap "has added pressure for cuts to beloved services, programs and facilities." The new petition needed 2,566 signatures. Sponsors turned in 2,986, and the municipal clerk certified it on June 25.

Municipal Attorney Emily Wright reviewed the petition in May. Her review says the question can return so soon because charter amendments, unlike initiatives, carry no one-year waiting period. The review also recounts a 1995 warning from the city attorney at the time that "a charter amendment having to do with tax levies may be vulnerable to lawsuits," and notes that no such lawsuit appears to have been filed since.

Proposition C: a summer recreation tax

Proposition C is a citizen initiative. It would add a permanent 1% sales tax from April 1 through Sept. 30 each year, on top of existing sales taxes. Its stated intent is to help fund indoor and outdoor recreation. Its petition, which lists Michael Cole as its contact, says, "This tax will help generate additional funds during the busiest sales months."

The city's Law Department reviewed that petition in May. "The intent language does not represent a dedicated fund," the review says. Under that reading, the Assembly would still decide how to spend the money. The review described a May through September tax; the ballot follows the amended petition and lists April through September.

Candidates

The ballot also fills Assembly and School Board seats:

• Paul Roy Kelly, Brad Sapp and James J. McCants are running for the areawide Assembly seat.

• Mila Cosgrove is unopposed in Assembly District 1.

• Karla Hart, Joyce M. Niven, Malachi Thorington and David Lee Morris are running in Assembly District 2.

• Britteny Cioni-Haywood, David Noon and Christine Johnson are seeking two School Board seats.

The city reported Thursday that no write-in candidates filed.