On a normal night, the Nome Common Council has five or so guests in attendance. By the time Tuesday night's meeting was underway over 30 people were crammed into tightly packed rows of chairs, with some even standing by the door. Over 50 joined the meeting by livestream as the city mulled ways to balance its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
When the city last amended its budget for the current fiscal year, it projected funding $2,465,882 through appropriations. In other words, taking money out of its rapidly shrinking savings account.
In a bid to get the budget back on track, the city is considering ways to boost revenues and slash expenses, the latter taking up the first hour and a half of Tuesday’s meeting.
12 department heads took turns addressing the council about the impact a hypothetical 10% cut to their budgets would have, starting with the city's Parks and Recreation Director, Chip Leeper.
“A 10% cut for me would be a full time position, or two part time positions, and the results would probably be just reduced hours, something similar to COVID where we would open probably about six and close at eight,” Leeper explained.
Leeper said his department could handle the cuts but Public Works Director, Cole Cushman, said the same couldn’t be said for his team. He gave an example from this past winter when both of the city’s snow blowers were inoperational, forcing Public Works to contract with Q Trucking.
“The equipment is needing more parts as it gets older. The parts are even more expensive as we go on, and my budgets going the other direction, and that hurts,” Cushman said. “What it means is a decrease in service to us, but it can also mean an increase in costs.”
During Port Director Joy Baker’s presentation, Council Member Mark Johnson floated an idea he said members of the public had raised to increase fuel tariffs. He acknowledged that an increase would’ve needed to happen earlier in the year when tariffs are typically set.
“Gonna have a whole lot of unhappy people,” Baker said in response to the idea. “They know when we update our tariff and it was released at the end of March, and those are the rates that they plan for their seasonal activities. So yeah, that would not go over very well.”
Baker also called on Nome Public Schools to work with the city to help balance the budget.
“Everybody should be contributing. When I mean everybody, I mean figuring out what the school absolutely needs, not what their request is, and not what cuts them short for staffing and taking care of the classrooms, but how about somewhere in the middle, based on what they actually need?” Baker said.
Nome Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Jim West Jr., said his crew would still be able to function with the cuts, but that it could come at a long-term cost with aging equipment.
“We are a first class city, we should have a fully paid staff for firefighting. But I think the 30 [volunteers] that are out there, they will give whatever it takes in an emergency situation to get things done,” West said.
Toward the end of his speech, West joined Baker in calling for a deeper look into Nome Public Schools’ finances.
“I think if you go across the whole board, like Joy said, make sure that everyone gets a reduction, even the school,” West said. “I'm all for education, I'm all for that, but they've got to be held accountable.”
Chief of Police William Crockett said the cuts would mean reductions in staff, potentially leaving just one officer on duty at a time.
“I'm afraid if we drop lower than this, I think we're going to have to start sacrificing the quality of our investigations and the quality of service,” Crockett said.
Crockett said the largest impact would be personnel, but that training may take a hit too, potentially jeopardizing the force’s recently acquired accreditation. He lamented that it has been difficult to attract and retain officers due to Nome’s remote location and limited housing. Crockett said the department’s two-week-on, two-week-off housing model is the “only draw” he has for attracting qualified candidates.
“I can't compete with other [police] departments,” Crockett said. “This is the only way I'm winning and getting officers up here.”
The city’s salaries are also lagging behind other municipalities, according to the city’s HR Director Cynthia Gray. But locally, she said the city is getting beat out by large organizations like Norton Sound Health Corporation and Kawerak. She said a prospective employee turned down an opportunity at the city for a similar role at the hospital that paid $20 more per hour.
“We could never compete with them,” Gray conceded.
The city’s Public Information Officer, Megan Onders, said she and her coworkers choose to work for the city for reasons beyond compensation.
“What keeps us here is the commitment to the community and public service and really serving the community. It's an amazing group of folks,” Onders said.
The work session concluded just after 7:00 p.m. with the council acknowledging the tight timeline it faced to finalize the budget. According to city law, the council is required to turn in its contribution amount to Nome Public Schools by May 31, prompting it to set an additional work session for Friday, May 23.
KNOM will livestream Friday's Nome Common Council work session on Facebook and YouTube.
Public Testimony
After the work session, the council transitioned into its regular meeting, with 17 individuals taking turns to address the council during the citizen’s comments periods. The comments took up much of the two hour meeting, with locals voicing their opinions on the budget as well as ongoing issues like taxicab licenses.
Council Member Mark Johnson, who was at the helm of the meeting in the absence of Mayor John Handeland, summarized written comments submitted by Drew McCann and Douglas Doherty.
The letter from Doherty urged the council to consider eliminating property tax entirely, in favor of raising the sales tax from 5% to 8.5% or even 9.5%. He suggested that such a move could increase overall annual revenues to the tune of several million dollars.
A survey conducted on the Nome P.S.A. Facebook group Doherty administers found that 93% of respondents were in favor of the idea. Doherty said to KNOM that his proposal is the only option presented to the council that would fully fund all departments.
Molly Naaktgeboren on early childhood education
“Preschool isn’t just a nice thing to have, it’s a proven investment in school readiness, community stability and working family support. When we help young children succeed, we help Nome succeed. We know this year’s budget has been difficult… but we’re asking the council to not cut off early childhood support at the roots.”
Watch a replay of the citizen's comments:
Veronica Alviso on Nome Community Center funding
“Simply put, when we invest in our people, we invest in a stronger, safer and more resilient community. NCC provides essential services to the most vulnerable members of our community… The proposed funding cut would not only jeopardize the programs we currently operate, but would also disqualify us from matching grant opportunities that require municipal and public support.”
Kimberly Bishop on Nome Community Center support
“Your funding not only helps us with our programs, but also helps us to secure additional funding as matching for our grants. To lose that kind of funding would be detrimental to our organization, who relies on grant donation and community support.”
Anna Rose MacArthur on public education funding
“If there’s not a school that is growing and thriving and providing education opportunities, there can’t be families here. If there aren’t families here, there isn’t a Nome… A budget is a value statement. That’s something that’s been said often, and because it’s true, where you put your money is what you value. Please value our youth.”
Thomas Simonsson on budget expectations and mining
“We’re in a situation, really, with a budget where we as a community expect to get a Tesla with a budget of a 1998 Plymouth Breeze. It simply won’t work… If I expect certain quality of life, I must also be prepared to partake in the cost share for these services.”
“We’re being asked to accept long-term disruption in exchange for short-term industrial activity that benefits only a few… The proposal does not represent a balanced or sustainable vision for Nome.”
Shawn Pomrenke on mining
“The benefits of mining, everybody knows, we’re having budget issues. When there was 10, 15 mines going in Nome, there wasn’t a whole lot of budget issues. Mines do good for the community. They provide gravel for our roads, provide jobs… I think it’d be good for the community to get this going and create jobs, and the money goes around.”
Rodney Jones on Nome Checker Cab operations
“I’ve been in business for 32 years. I’m the last survivor. I’m standing, and I feel like I got a target on me… I’m not asking for money. I just need a little more time so I can dress my company up to make it more presentable to you folks.”
John Reed on mining
“Shawn [Pomrenke] has some of the best reclamation in the whole town… Go look at Anvil Creek, he knows what he’s doing, he’s done it safe, and I know he’ll do this project very well. The property he’s mining, it’s not a park. It’s a privately owned mining patent.”
Steven Longley on taxi regulations
“Do away with the taxi licenses. None of the other communities our size have a taxi license… If someone wants to run a taxi, get a business license and sales tax license. That’s where you guys make your money, if the drivers turn in their sales tax.”
Ryan Martinson on economic benefits of mining
“These jobs are high-paying enough and consistent enough to where these people can apply for mortgages… and get out of the rent rut that so many people in Nome are stuck in. Mining provides jobs, and jobs support families.”
Bridie Trainor on environmental concerns and education
“It’s hard for people to watch the land turned over… And also with the schools, they say children are the future, that’s not true. They absolutely are the reason that people stay in the community… We need to have healthy schools, and people live here also for the land and the animals.”
Valerie Fuller on school and recreational support
“I just want to stand with some of the voices tonight who have called for support for our schools. I think it’s so imperative that we support our youngest community members and our educators… I know something that hasn’t been mentioned tonight also is the pool, it provides a great source for kids to be active and families to get together.”
Michelle Harvey on pool access and swimming safety
“I realized [my daughter] didn’t really know how to swim… I took learning to swim at the pool for granted… Because of the pool, we were able to go out boating and do things safely. And part of the preschool is, I’ve been there for almost 10 years now. I love my job… I’m investing my time into the preschool and the future of these children.”
Rexodus Pomrenke on concerns with the Nome Police Department
“I urge you, passionately, as a woman, a mother, a daughter and now a grandmother, to reconsider this [accreditation]… The Nome Police Department has lost my trust, and they’ve lost the trust of many Native women. They can’t be operating without accountability.”
Dani Smithhisler on preschool and mining impact
“There’s only so much that fundraising and grant applications can support. We really need that support from the city… And as for the mining, it’s not in the middle of nowhere. I can see activity from my house. I can hear it all day and night. It can be disruptive to daily lives.”
Kate Osborn on balancing mining and public funding
“Mining does have a history here. It does bring in money… A lot of people are wanting to put money into our schools, but we need to consider economic development. If we don’t start making money and bringing money in, we’re not going to have any money to give to our schools or our preschool or the pool.”
