COVID-19, rental assistance, tax deadlines topics at Monday meeting

• News Home
• More from News of the North

Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 12:24 PM

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Whatsapp

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly will be holding a special meeting on Monday evening on a wide range of topics.

First up, the Assembly will hear an update on COVID-19 and actions the CBJ is undertaking.

Following that update, the Assembly will hear an ordinance amending the Continuity of Government Code.

City Manager Rorie Watt said the code was created in 1962 during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis when communities were concerned about physical attacks.

"While the underlying concepts in the continuity of government code remain relevant today, like the designation of successors for certain municipal officers, some code provisions are outdated," Watt said. "This ordinance would modernize the continuity of government code."

The Assembly will also take up an ordinance amending the Civil Defense Code to Improve CBJ emergency procedures.

The code was originally created in 1967.

"This ordinance would amend the Civil Defense Organization chapter to be consistent with current emergency management practices and to clarify out of date code sections," Watt said.

An Emergency Appropriation Resolution, appropriating $200,000 to the City Manager for an Emergency Rental Assistance Program, will also be heard. Funding for the resolution would be provided by the Affordable Housing Fund.

"COVID-19 continues to change our community," Watt said. "To protect the public health and welfare, social distancing requirements have been implemented, including the closure of non-essential businesses and ordering people to hunker down. Many people who work in businesses that have closed are people that rent. As a result, demand for existing rental assistance programs is up and expected to rise. This resolution would provide funds to support the rental assistance program currently offered by the nonprofit Alaska Housing Development Corporation."

The resolution was discussed at the Special Assembly meeting on April 2. An opportunity for public testimony was provided at the Regular Assembly meeting on April 6 after which the Assembly continued this resolution to April 13.

On April 9, the Economic Stabilization Task Force recommended the Assembly postpone action on this item for a week to give the task force additional time to make an informed recommendation. On April 13, the Assembly postponed further consideration of this emergency appropriation resolution until Monday night's meeting.

As public health officials learn more about COVID-19, we are learning that many people infected with COVID-19 do not show symptoms but can infect others. As a result, the Assembly will take up a resolution urging the use of cloth face masks in public.

"People are strongly urged to wear a cloth face-covering in public settings, especially where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain like grocery stores, gas stations, and retail stores," Watt said. "This recommendation applies equally to customers and employees. If businesses and customers follow this recommendation, this can help the community start to open up."

Finally, Watt is recommending a borough-wide extension to the sales tax filing deadline.

Watt recommends the Assembly direct the Sales Tax Office to implement a 30-day extension for remittance of sales tax receipts for the month of March and the first quarter of 2020, but requiring that returns are filed by the standard deadline.

"If a March or first-quarter return is filed by April 30, 2020, which is the standard deadline, then penalties and interest will be waived if sales tax due is remitted in full by June 1, 2020," Watt said. "The Assembly may direct the Sales Tax Office to implement this extension by affirmative motion to this effect."

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. in Assembly Chambers at City Hall.

More from News of the North

• Murkowski, Klobuchar reintroduce bill to prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome while supporting individuals living with FASD

  Washington, D.C. (KINY) - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) Thursday reintroduced the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Respect Act of 2023, legislation which reauthorizes programs and funding to aid individuals and families impacted by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

• Aurora Behavioral Health Center readies for opening; Community Open House happening June 14

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Bartlett Regional Hospital is opening its doors to the new crisis stabilization center on campus for a community open house on Jun. 14 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

• Juneau man pleads guilty to bank and credit union theft

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - A Juneau man was an armored transport guard who stole $579,400.00 entrusted to him by three banks and two federal credit unions.

• Alaska Native Language Center film wins Northwest Regional Emmy

  Fairbanks, Alaska (UAF) - The Alaska Native Language Center’s film “Awake” has won a Northwest Regional Emmy through the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

• 'Ending an Injustice': Delegation reintroduces landless legislation

  Washington, D.C. (KINY) - U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-Alaska), and Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Thursday issued statements on legislation that would allow the Alaska Native communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Tenakee to form urban corporations and receive land entitlements under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA).

• Utah man sues Alaska troopers, says his job offer was yanked after revealing HIV status

  Anchorage, Alaska (AP) - A Salt Lake City man who says his job offer to become an Alaska State Trooper was rescinded after he disclosed he was HIV positive filed a lawsuit in state court Thursday to get his position on the statewide police force and to prevent others from suffering similar alleged discrimination.

• The Southeast Alaska Birding Trail is now a mobile application

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Audubon Alaska, the state office of the National Audubon Society, has announced a new way to bird with the help of technology—the Southeast Alaska Birding Trail mobile application.

• Jacobs sentenced to 53 years for downtown Juneau murder of Scott Campbell

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - On Jun. 6, Superior Court Judge Amy Mead sentenced 43-year-old Fenton L. Jacobs to a composite sentence of 65 years with 12 years suspended and 53 years to serve.

• Alaska Fish and Game announces temporary liberalized regulations for Swan Lake Junior Trout Derby in Sitka

  Sitka, Alaska (KINY) - In order to provide increased opportunity for youth anglers during the annual “Swan Lake Junior Trout Derby”, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has temporarily liberalized trout regulations for Swan Lake.

• Long-term study hopes to unlock secrets of Gulf of Alaska ecosystem

  Alaska (UAF) - The University of Alaska Fairbanks is using underwater autonomous vehicles in order to learn more about the ecosystem in the Gulf of Alaska.

• Governor Dunleavy welcomes Jerry Moses as Alaska's Washington DC Office Director

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced that Jerry Moses has joined the Dunleavy administration as director of the State of Alaska's Washington DC Office.

• Avian influenza has returned to Alaska, and so have health advisories

  Juneau, Alaska (Alaska Beacon) - The highly pathogenic disease circling the globe stands out for its effects on wild birds, and Alaskans should be on the lookout for cases, experts say