Juneau Assembly schedules hearing on proposed 3% sales tax, $16M school bond question

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly scheduled a July 27 public hearing on a proposed temporary 3% areawide sales tax and an election question on whether the tax should be levied.

Under Ordinance 2026-13, the proposed tax would apply to taxable sales across the area. The proposal describes a five-year tax period running from July 1, 2027, through July 1, 2032.

The Assembly’s scheduled hearing is a procedural step. The notice does not establish that the ordinance has been enacted, that the tax has been approved by voters, or what final ballot language would be used.

Sales-tax question would go to voters

Ordinance 2026-13 calls for an election on the proposed tax. The official public-hearing notice identifies the measure as a temporary 3% areawide sales tax and includes the question of whether the tax should be levied.

If advanced through the required municipal process, the proposal would affect taxable sales in Juneau during the specified five-year period. The notice does not provide fiscal estimates for households or businesses, so it does not establish the financial effect on individual taxpayers, customers or local firms.

Separate proposal concerns school capital bonds

The July 27 hearing notice also listed Ordinance 2026-35, a proposed general-obligation bond issue of up to $16 million for school capital improvements. The proposal would send a bond proposition to voters at the Oct. 6, 2026, municipal election.

General-obligation bonds are a proposed borrowing mechanism in this ordinance; the notice does not indicate that the bonds have been authorized or issued. The stated ceiling is up to $16 million, and the listed purpose is capital improvements for the City and Borough of Juneau School District.

The sales-tax and bond measures are separate proposals. The public notice ties the tax measure to an election question and identifies the Oct. 6 election date for the school-bond proposition. It does not establish final voter-facing language or fiscal estimates for either measure, which may change before adoption.

Other tax ordinances also listed

The Assembly’s public-hearing notice included additional ordinances concerning senior-citizen and disabled-veteran property-tax hardship exemptions. It also listed a proposed repeal of a sales-tax exemption for negotiated-sale or lease agent commissions.

No vote total, final Assembly action or voter outcome is identified in the notice. The next specified election date in the package is Oct. 6, 2026, for the proposed school capital-improvement bond proposition.