The Permanent Fund's budget is up $5.3 million, and most of it goes to managers

The annual draw from the Alaska Permanent Fund supplies more than two-thirds of the state's unrestricted general fund, the money that pays for most day-to-day government. On Sept. 2 the fund corporation's trustees voted unanimously in Juneau to approve a fiscal 2028 operating budget $5.3 million above the current year, about 2.5 percent. Roughly 70 percent of the increase, $3.7 million, is fees to alternative-markets managers.

Information technology accounts for another $803,000, just under 50 percent more than fiscal 2027. Budget staffer Scott Jones told the board the one-time items include a cybersecurity audit the board schedules every other year, AI consulting, and "replacement of our 33-year-old data center cooling system." Ongoing costs are up because virtualization software charges more than doubled, from $109 per core to nearly $250.

Personal services rise $1.1 million, or 4.3 percent, including a budgeted 5 percent increase covering cost-of-living and merit raises. The corporation has 61 full-time positions with four vacancies, three of them in investments.

Trustees also accepted KPMG's fiscal 2026 audit, which carries a clean opinion with no outstanding matters. The auditors reported one uncorrected misstatement, tied to a lag in receiving financial information from alternative investments, which they judged immaterial.

The budget lands in the middle of a governor's transition. Chair Jason Brune said the current governor directed a flat budget with changes listed separately, and that the corporation ran its normal process anyway because trustees consider identifying their funding requirements a fiduciary responsibility. "The new governor will be responsible for submitting the budget of the State of Alaska by December 15th," Brune said. Staff sent a draft to the Department of Revenue on Aug. 14 and reported no changes since. Trustees voted to forward the proposal to the governor's budget office.

Brune also asked staff on the record to bring trustees an artificial intelligence policy at the December meeting, one that would show the board's support for using AI while ensuring the corporation's data stays protected and confidential.

The budget includes up to $50,000 for software to replace paper board packets, which drew the only real resistance of the meeting. Trustee Ryan Anderson said he did not want to buy devices that might be obsolete in six months. Trustee John Binkley was blunter: "Please don't consider giving me another device in whatever you do."

The board next meets in Nome, where trustees are scheduled to take up a proposed benchmark review committee charter.