North Anchorage Assembly member sets Oct. 27 budget forum

Residents can question Assembly Member Sydney Scout and Budget Advisory Commission chair Ian Mills about municipal spending at a public forum hosted with Stand Up Alaska, a 501(c)(4) advocacy group, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6 to 8 p.m. at Bernie's Bungalow Lounge on D Street. The notice asks whether the city is "really facing a fiscal cliff." Other Assembly members may attend, but no business will be transacted.

The forum follows a resolution the Assembly took up Sept. 1 establishing a Fiscal Future Initiative and calling for a community fiscal-future summit in October. That summit is set for Oct. 30 at the UAA Student Union.

The mayor's proposed 2027 budget is due Oct. 2. The city's 120-day memo, the mayor's preliminary revenue forecast, projects non-property-tax revenue $7.8 million below this year's budget, but attributes $6.3 million of it to one-time revenue not carried into 2027. A separate $3 million drop in taxes under the cap shifts onto property taxes dollar for dollar.