Sitka voters will weigh in on a seasonal sales tax change in a special election on Feb. 2. The Sitka Assembly gave final approval at its meeting Tuesday night, and allocated nearly $20,000 to hold the election.
“This is going to be something where the people of Sitka are deciding that this is something we need to keep the economy of Sitka going, because this is an economic question more than anything,” said Assembly Member Thor Christianson. “It’s the right thing to do to take care of the kids, but as importantly, it’s something we need to keep the economy going because the lack of childcare is making it harder and harder for us to get employees and have them stay in Sitka. But again, at the end of the day, it’s not our call. It’s going to be the people of Sitka’s call.”
If approved by voters, the local sales tax rate between April 1 and September 30 would increase from 6% to 6.5%. City staff anticipate the increase could raise more than $1 million in additional sales tax revenue per year to help fund a local childcare initiative. The tax increase would sunset in 10 years.
Local Kari Segal read from a statement on behalf of Sitka Early Childhood Coalition member Lauren Wild. In it, Wild said she wondered what the summer sales tax increase would look like for a family like hers. She said for her family of four, they spend about $13,000 on things like groceries, utilities, harbor moorage, and miscellaneous expenses over that proposed six-month period.
“A half percent sales tax on 13,000 is $65,” she said. “That is the increased amount of sales tax we would pay over the summer if this ballot initiative were to pass. This equals about $11 per month for the six-month period.”
Segal, reading from Wild’s letter, said that $65 is an investment in the sustainability and future of the community, which has experienced a massive decline in student enrollment over the past two decades.
“The childcare crisis is one of the top two reasons we are losing families. The other is housing,” she said. “It is worth investing in childcare to stop this decline. This revenue would help Sitka stabilize our plunging youth population and enable us to grow back into a thriving community for families.”
Ultimately, the assembly voted unanimously to move forward with the special election. Several assembly members noted that if the city finds another steady source of income to stabilize the local childcare system in the future, the assembly could choose to hold another special election to lower the tax rate again.
