Municipal employees in Skagway have the potential to earn more money, new rules will go into effect at the Dyea Campground, and more municipal meetings are deemed essential. 

The Skagway Borough Assembly passed three resolutions at its Thursday meeting. 

One of them was to increase the amount of money municipal employees can potentially make. Skagway has fifteen steps within each pay grade⁠—which means each employee has only so many potential raises. But long-term employees could reach an upper limit on how much they get paid. To incentivize employee retention, the assembly voted to add ten steps to each pay grade. 

Assembly member Orion Hansen voted against. He said municipal employees do deserve raises, but given the economic downturn, he would rather wait until the next budget cycle.

“As a municipality, we also set the tone. And if we aren’t reflecting what’s the reality of our economy, I don’t think that’s the right message we send. I really think we should, you know, hold off on this until our economy is a little more stable,” he said.

The vote was split, so Mayor Andrew Cremata broke the tie in favor. He said the assembly could choose to freeze wages, but he wants the manager to have the opportunity to reward good work over time.

“To have the latitude to prevent the departure of an exceptional employee who may leave in uncertain times, because they’ve been maxed out and have no chance of getting a pay increase would be tragic,” he said.

The assembly established rules and fees for the Municipal Dyea Campground. Campsites are “first come, first served.” Each tent or camper must pay a $10 nightly fee within 30 minutes of making camp. The maximum stay in the campground is 7 nights. Campers must leave for three nights before returning for another stay. The rules and fees go into effect on April 1st, 2021.

The assembly green-lit meetings for the Marine Highway Ad-Hoc Committee by adding it to the list of essential meetings. They reasoned the committee could push forward useful work that can be completed even during a pandemic. The committee is tasked with exploring ferry options in case Alaska Marine Highway Service is insufficient.