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Sitka moves forward with full municipal code recodification; city to migrate to eCode360 platform
Summary
City legal staff and vendor General Code outlined a two‑year recodification to correct errors and modernize Sitka’s municipal code; migration to the vendor’s eCode360 platform is scheduled within 10–12 weeks after contract execution and the code review period is expected to take roughly 180 business days.
City legal staff and a vendor representative briefed the Sitka City and Borough Assembly on a planned recodification and rewrite of the municipal code aimed at correcting long‑standing drafting errors and ensuring internal consistency.
Sarah (legal staff) said the effort is not intended to make substantive policy changes but to eliminate errors, outdated cross‑references and provisions preempted by state or federal law. She cited examples identified in a 2022 legal review: a residual "clerk treasurer" definition that no longer matches current office structure, an overly broad definition of "immediate family" in the conflicts‑of‑interest section, and code sections that still treat violations as misdemeanors despite the borough lacking a borough‑level court. The team said those provisions would be corrected so the code is enforceable and clearer to citizens and staff.
Rachel and Emily from General Code described the platform and timeline. Emily said Sitka’s existing code will be migrated to General Code’s eCode360 platform within roughly 10–12 weeks after signing and that an editorial review is expected to take about 180 business days. The vendor said staff will be trained, that the platform allows in‑line review questions linked to the manuscript, and that as new ordinances are adopted the platform can integrate them during the multi‑year process. After the city’s review of the manuscript the vendor expects to deliver a draft proposed code within about 145 days for a 45‑day city review; the city’s current code runs about 849 pages.
Budget and timing: staff said the recodification work is already budgeted in the current fiscal and the next budget cycle. Assembly members asked about charter interactions; staff said the project covers code only and that any charter changes suggested by the recodification would require a separate political process.
Why it matters: the city said the recodification will remove internal contradictions, bring statutory citations up to date, correct references to state and federal law, and make the code more usable for citizens and staff.
Public and staff input: city staff and department heads have been involved and supportive, and the legal team said the project will include an internal review workflow that can route questions to the staff member best positioned to answer them. Several assembly members voiced support for a two‑year schedule and praised the project’s potential to streamline staff work.
Next steps: the city will proceed with the vendor migration and a phased review on the eCode360 platform. No formal assembly action was recorded at this meeting; the presentation and timeline were informational.
