Many of those on hand agreed, as the AMHS’ future dominated the conversation Wednesday. More than 30 people were in attendance, including multiple AMHS employees.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
[With state government shutdown looming, university preparing for late, reduced budget<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t John Wynne, a former legislator in the state of Washington and a recent retiree from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, summed up many people’s thoughts with a comment he made during the question-and-answer segment.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I don’t think the governor understands how important the ferry system is to Southeast,” Wynne said. “He’s not closing roads anywhere else in the state other than in Southeast, with the marine highway system.”<\/p>\n Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, holds a town hall meeting at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed a $98 million cut to the ferry system in his initial budget proposal. The Legislature’s proposal cuts less than half of that, as Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said on the Senate floor this month that the final cut from the Legislature ended up being $38 million. That will result in reduced service, especially to the smaller communities in Southeast such as Angoon and Hoonah.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The cut to the system has not been finalized. Dunleavy has not yet signed the operating budget passed by the Alaska Legislature, and the new fiscal year begins July 1. Story, a member of the House Majority, voted in favor of passing the Legislature’s version of the operating budget, which rejects many of the cuts<\/a> Dunleavy made in his initial budget proposal.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t About 30 people attended Story’s town hall meeting Wednesday, and many of them chimed in about what they’ve heard about the cuts to the marine highway and why they think the cuts are being made. Patrick Phillips, a deck officer for the AMHS, said he knows the governor’s support bases are cities such as Wasilla and Palmer.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I don’t know how the cuts are going to affect those communities,” Phillips said. “I know how they’re going to affect Kake, Angoon, Sitka, Ketchikan, the communities I visit. I think if he was beating up the communities up there equally to these communities, he wouldn’t get re-elected.”<\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/17374368_web1_IMG-7097.jpg\")
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