A ballot proposition that would require economic impact studies for future citizen initiatives will go before Sitka voters in the municipal election this fall.
On Monday, Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson announced that the initiative’s sponsors had gathered enough signatures for their proposal to be included on the ballot. 368 valid signatures were required and 418 were submitted.
If approved by the Sitka voters, the economic impact studies must be done by a professional with a master’s degree in economics, public policy, finance, or a related field, and must be conducted by an independent third-party. The sponsors of any citizen initiative would fund the study prior to collecting signatures, and any ballot initiative application that doesn’t include an economic study would be rejected by the municipal clerk.
The initiative is being sponsored by Chris McGraw and Jeremy Plank – both are members of a tourism advocacy group, Safeguard Sitka’s Future. The group formed in response to a citizen initiative to cap cruise traffic last year, opposing it in large part due to the impact they said a limit would have on Sitka’s economy.
You can read the full initiative here. Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday, October 7.
