Finance committee advances marine passenger fee plan amid debates over private dock grants and downtown ambassador funding

The Juneau finance committee on May 7 forwarded the FY26 marine passenger fee plan to the full Assembly after a series of amendments and roll‑call votes on specific line items.

Private dock grants: Assemblymember Hughes Scandis proposed deleting allocations that would fund access control, security and restroom maintenance at two private docks (AJ Dock and Franklin Dock). After debate, a roll‑call vote failed to adopt the amendment (motion failed by vote: 3 yes, 6 no). Finance staff explained that Judge Holland's prior ruling permits passenger fee funding to be used for private dock expenses and that the City has previously funded private dock MOAs for a limited calendar year period.

Covered bus stop and other passenger fee capital items: An amendment to strike $70,000 for a covered bus stop at Mendenhall Loop Road also failed on the roll call (4 yes, 5 no). Staff noted an existing covered bus stop CIP and explained passenger fee allocations support a range of visitor‑related capital and operating work.

Downtown ambassador program: Assemblymember Smith moved to add $75,000 for a downtown ambassador program from passenger fees. Staff reminded the committee that last year the assembly had classified that program as a one‑time expense; the committee approved adding it back to the plan in committee. Staff said if the Assembly funds the program, they would expect the program to demonstrate reduced impacts on City staff, particularly around tourism inquiries at the cash office and transit center.

Capital Civic Center proposal: Assemblymember Smith moved to direct staff to program passenger fees for the Capital Civic Center in FY27. That motion failed on a roll call (4 yes, 5 no). Committee members expressed differing views about using passenger fees for the civic center versus other priorities such as shore power, seawalk or dock infrastructure; several members said the decision should await further budget direction.

Private dock MOAs and timing: Staff said MOAs with private dock owners would cover calendar year 2025 only and noted the cruise season spans two fiscal years; the committee discussed using fund balance to cover any shortfall between projected passenger fee receipts and proposed expenditures.

Ending: The committee passed the marine passenger fee plan as amended and forwarded it to the full Assembly; several contentious line‑item amendments were voted down and one‑time program requests (including the downtown ambassador appropriation) were added by committee action.