Dillingham pulls from its general fund to help finance departments, repairs

The City of Dillingham adopted its annual budget last month. The plan will dip into the municipality’s savings, with a yearly negative fund balance of $4.5 million. But Anita Fuller, the city’s finance director, says that money is going, in part, toward needed projects.

“It’s tough to look at a negative $4.5 million as a fund balance. That can be very scary,” she said. “But if we handle it well, we can do much with it. It’s just a reminder that you can’t just look at this one year by itself. You have to look at the full picture.”

The Public Works Department and the Port of Dillingham require millions of dollars of investment for repairs. The landfill, which is part of Public Works, needs a new compactor and a water facility for its dormant incinerator. The harbor needs to complete float repairs and pay for storm protection measures. This year, the landfill will receive approximately $1.3 million dollars and the port and harbor will receive about $1.5 million from the city. The harbor will also get an additional $5 million from the state.

Fuller says staff shortages contributed to the city’s inability to complete infrastructure projects in recent years. This temporary stall has resulted in a positive fund balance.

“Instead of it being an expense, it kind of kept that revenue. Now, we’re recognizing those expenses in FY24,” she said.

Fuller says the city is considering other revenue sources, including a local fish tax. In 2019, the Bristol Bay Borough on the region’s east side voted to collect income through a 1.5% business fishery tax on processed fish. The money from the tax was earmarked to pay for updates to the borough’s sewage system.

Presently, Dillingham only collects the statewide raw fish and shared fishery taxes, which account for $700,000 annually.

For now, Fuller says the city is focusing on maximizing their current revenue streams.

“Let’s make sure that what revenue sources we have are utilized to its fullest. Are all businesses getting a business license and are they submitting sales tax?” she said. “Is everyone who’s using the harbor getting a harbor sticker?”

Dillingham distributes most of its funding to its departments. The bulk, approximately $4 million, goes toward Public Safety. That includes the police department, animal control, the fire department and the DMV. The city receives $720,000 back in revenue from the state as part of a jail contract.

Public Works gets the second largest appropriation at approximately $2 million, followed by the city’s school district at $1.7 million.

Fund appropriations and projects are discussed throughout the year at Dillingham City Council meetings.

Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.