Six employees of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough have retired or resigned in the past fiscal year, and all had a build-up of personal leave. The borough now needs to pay those employees for their leave, totaling more than $100,000.
An ordinance is in front of the borough assembly on Monday to appropriate money to help pay for that. Also included in that appropriation is the cost of a housing needs assessment.
According to a memo in Monday’s meeting packet, the assembly in February directed the borough’s Planning Department to start a housing needs assessment. That $60,000 project will involve a demographics and economics study, a look at available services, a survey of available housing, interviews with housing industry professionals, and a housing gap analysis.
Also Monday, the assembly will discuss a list of federal policy issues that a local delegation will bring to Washington, D.C., during an April lobbying trip. That delegation will include Mayor David Landis, Assembly Member Rodney Dial and Borough Manager Ruben Duran.
According to a borough memo, the group will meet with Rep. Don Young, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan; as well as officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Administration, and National Association of Counties.
Some of the topics on the list include Secure Rural Schools and PILT funding, homeporting NOAA’s ship Fairweather in Ketchikan, sea otter management, and the FEMA flood insurance program.
Monday’s assembly meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in borough assembly chambers at the White Cliff building. Public comment will be heard at the start of the meeting.
