Juneau leaders begin to grapple with budget shortfall following election tax cuts

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The municipal tax cuts approved by Juneau voters in this fall’s election are expected to create a $6.4 million hole in the city’s budget this fiscal year. But that’s only scraping the surface.

Next year — and every year moving forward — the city will face an estimated $12 million revenue loss. That’s due to the tax exemption on food and utilities and cap on the city’s property tax rate that voters passed.

This year, the funding gap is smaller because the city is already partially through this fiscal year. The new food and utility tax exemptions take effect starting Nov. 20 and the property tax rate cap will begin next year.

During a finance committee meeting on Wednesday night, Assembly members be