Anchorage Assembly takes up $182,425 for police street racing patrols

A resolution before the Anchorage Assembly on Wednesday, Nov. 4, would give the Anchorage Police Department $182,425 for targeted enforcement against aggressive driving and illegal street racing. The money pays for patrols across the municipality. Officer overtime is the largest single cost.

The Alaska Department of Transportation supplies $178,500 of the total as a reimbursable grant, repaying the city after it spends the money. The remaining $3,925 comes from the city's police service area fund, according to the resolution.

The grant requires APD to put up a $35,351 match in staff time rather than cash. That match comes from personnel work already paid for in the department's operating budget.

The grant runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2027. The administration, including Police Chief Sean Case and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, recommends approval.

The street racing measure is one of several state highway-safety grants on the same agenda. A companion resolution would put $353,262 toward municipal-wide speed enforcement. Another would put more than $1.9 million in state money toward an impaired driving enforcement unit, including four patrol vehicles. A fourth would put $113,318 toward distracted driving enforcement aimed at protecting pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Together, the four grants draw $2,546,890 in state money. With the municipal transfers added, the four resolutions total $2,628,214. Alaska News previously covered the full package of grants, which it put at about $2.5 million.

All four are on the consent agenda, reserved for routine items that don't require a public hearing. Residents can still comment in writing at www.muni.org/testimony or in person. The Assembly meets Wednesday at 5 pm instead of its usual time because of the Nov. 3 general election.