Skagway’s Borough Assembly is advancing its fiscal year 2027 budget draft, which proposes a 20% increase for the Dahl Memorial Clinic after initially requesting 27%, while the local school district’s funding request has decreased. The borough manager emphasized that costs are rising, but departments worked to control budgets, estimating an 8.4% increase in revenues and a 7.7% increase in expenses for the general fund. The proposed budget overall is up about 10% from last year and would draw on reserves, shrinking that account from $3.3 million to $1.3 million.
Dahl Memorial Clinic’s Funding Request
The Dahl Memorial Clinic’s total proposed budget is $7.5 million, with approximately $4.3 million to come from the borough. The clinic’s executive director, Albert Wall, attributed the need for a significant budget increase to the high cost of providing 24/7 emergent care as a federally qualified health center without a local hospital. He stated that tourists accounted for 72% of the emergency care cost at the clinic in 2025
and that the clinic bleed[s] out cash in the emergency services department
because FQHCs are not structured to support an emergency department.
Skagway School’s Decreased Request
Skagway School is requesting about $20,000 less than it did last year, with the borough’s portion of the school budget set at a little over $3.2 million. School Board President Cory Thole explained that the decrease is due to a lower student count in 2024, which fell from 133 to 115, reducing the amount the borough is legally allowed to contribute. He noted that despite the funding decrease, the continuity of programs has not changed
, and all academic, sports, art, music, and shop programs remain intact.
Borough Prepares Draft Budget for Upcoming Assembly Readings
The borough held two extra meetings to prepare the draft budget, which will go before the Assembly three more times before adoption. The first reading is scheduled for Nov. 5, followed by a public hearing on Nov. 19 and a final reading on Dec. 3. Not included in the budget is a laundry trailer, which the borough has been considering for a year-round laundromat to replace the facility lost in 2024. Staff is currently pricing a smaller unit for the approximately $300,000 project.
