The Haines Borough cancelled a special assembly meeting Monday evening less than two hours before it was scheduled to start. The assembly planned to discuss a ballot measure that would expand police service across the borough. What the assembly didn’t know is that the deadline to put that ordinance on the ballot had passed.
The big news is that the question of police service area will not be on the upcoming ballot. Here’s why.
Haines resident Paul Nelson wrote an email to Haines borough staff and assembly that said a Monday night special borough assembly meeting was unlawful, and he’d like to see it cancelled. He got what he was looking for.
Paul Nelson runs Bigfoot Auto at 1.5 mile. He says the borough failed to give sufficient public notice for the meeting.
“There has to be five days before any public meeting regarding putting an ordinance on the ballot,” he said.
That’s according to state statute.
“They should cancel the meeting and they should not put this issue on the ballot,” said Nelson.
That’s not why the meeting was cancelled. His second point is.
Nelson said that per borough code, it’s too late to add anything to this year’s municipal ballot.
The special assembly meeting would include the third public hearing of an ordinance that would amend borough charter to add police service to the list of area wide powers.
Nelson’s opposition is both legal and ideological—he says he doesn’t want the police to have those.
“My first goal is to get the borough to comply with their own rules,” he said.
“My second goal is to prevent putting area-wide policing on the ballot when we have much more pressing issues.”
The borough only gave four days of notice for the meeting, but Borough Clerk Alekka Fullerton says text and summary of the ordinance itself has been noticed for weeks.
“The reason the meeting is cancelled is due to its content, not because of the lack of notice,” she said.
“There is no lack of notice.”
It’s too late for the question to be on the October 1st, 2019 election ballot. Fullerton was out of town when the meeting was scheduled.
She says she’s glad that residents like Nelson are keeping tabs.
“I like that we have people checking up on things like that. I think it’s good for our community,” she said.
Fullerton says skipping the meeting will save tax-payers $750.