The borough assembly is expanding by about $2,000 its annual financial assistance for Wrangell public radio KSTK, which has been hit hard by the loss of federal funding as have all public radio and TV stations nationwide.

The assembly agreed Nov. 12 to expand its donation to cover more of the station’s utilities but declined to waive property taxes on the KSTK building on Church Street.

The additional help with utilities will save the station about $2,000 a year, Borough Manager Mason Villarma said.

Forgiving property taxes for this year would have saved the station almost $2,400.

KSTK lost about half of its funding for the current fiscal year when the Trump administration, with congressional approval, pulled back $1.1 billion in previously allocated federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“That decision blew a $167,000 hole in our boat,” Station Manager Cindy Sweat said this summer after Congress approved the president’s request. “53% of our revenue for the year is now gone. It's extremely significant and we have to figure something out.”

The station’s fall fundraising drive garnered $29,433, exceeding its goal by several thousand dollars.

Donating free utilities is up to the assembly, but the borough has to follow state law on property taxes which does not exempt nonprofits unless their property “is used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, cemetery, hospital or educational purposes.” The radio station does not qualify under those exemptions.

“You want to help them out as much as possible,” Villarma said in an interview after the assembly meeting, but noted that waiving property taxes for KSTK could lead to other organizations also coming to City Hall for a tax break.

He had recommended that the assembly approve the additional help with utilities but not the property tax waiver. The assembly voted unanimously on both issues — in support of the utilities and against including property taxes in the assistance package.

“KSTK provides vital community services including local journalism, public information and the Emergency Alert System for Wrangell,” borough staff reported to the assembly, supporting the request for additional financial aid.

Separate from its financial help for the station, the borough pays KSTK $7,500 a year to broadcast, post and archive assembly meetings on kstk.org.

Several years ago, the assembly included a cash donation to KSTK in the borough budget, but that changed to providing free utilities for the station — electricity, water, sewage and trash services. The assistance is capped at $12,500 a year for the station and its transmitter tower.

But the borough help did not include a second utilities account for the ground floor of the station building. The assembly on Nov. 12 agreed to cover that account, too, which Villarma said would provide about $2,000 a year in additional financial support.

The $12,500 annual cap on free utilities does not change.

Stations across Alaska are trying to survive the loss of federal money. CoastAlaska, with staff statewide, holds the federal license for KSTK and provides shared news and administrative services for the public radio stations in Wrangell, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Petersburg and Unalaska.