Along with a work session on restoration projects for the Unalaska Lake watershed, city council will set their own city-wide goals for 2016 when they meet tonight.

They'll focus on keeping budgets tight until major capital projects, like the wastewater treatment plant, are out of the way.

In a memo to council, city manager Chris Hladick writes, ”The outside influences on our finances can be summed up in three letters: EPA." 

The city is playing catch-up to Environmental Protection Agency standards with three major projects: the new wastewater and water treatment plants, and the landfill expansion. The wastewater plant has to meet EPA deadlines for completion, or the city could face fines. That project is also weighed down by millions of dollars in claims from hired contractors.

The city’s expecting to incur debt from all three of those projects. At the same time, local revenues are projected to drop over the next fiscal year. Hladick recommends that the city investigate new financial opportunities -- like alternative fuel and shipping on the Northern Sea Route.

Hladick will present more information when council meets tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall.