Anchorage 12-member elected legislative body, meeting weekly in the Loussac Library chambers. Passes ordinances, approves the municipal budget, and confirms mayoral appointments.
Photo: The Alaska Landmine via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
muni.org ↗Anchorage, AK, USA
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Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Week of Jun 22
A neighborhood drinking arsenic-tainted well water wants help paying to join the city system
A Sand Lake street says its shared wells are laced with arsenic and wants help connecting to city water — reviving the question of who pays for private wells.

Anchorage mayor introduces two property tax incentive proposals to spur housing
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance introduced two property tax breaks Tuesday to spur housing development in the city.

Anchorage Assembly members call on Martinez to resign after APOC ruling
Two Anchorage Assembly members called on George Martinez to resign after an APOC ruling found he willfully used campaign funds for personal benefit and lied under oath.

Anchorage Moves to Fix One of Its Most Dangerous Streets
Anchorage is finally redesigning Bragaw Street — no bike lanes, disappearing sidewalks, nowhere for the snow — with mostly federal money and a six-year timeline.

Two Assembly members want Martinez out. The removal law may not reach him
Two members want Martinez gone over APOC fines. The removal law they're trying to use might not be a fit, and the math to carry it out would be an uphill battle.

Anchorage Assembly set to award $2.4M in tree-removal contracts Tuesday
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on $2.4 million in tree-removal contracts to address beetle-killed spruce and hazard trees threatening homes and public safety.

Week of Jun 15
APD awards $1.66M opioid settlement contract for deflection program
Anchorage Police Department recommends a $1.66 million four-year contract with True North Recovery to hire a navigator who steers people in substance use crises toward treatment instead of arrest.

Anchorage Assembly to consider AMEA-ASEA merger recognition June 23
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on recognizing ASEA as the bargaining representative for municipal employees after a union merger took effect in April.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on downtown sidewalk and ADA repairs
Anchorage Assembly votes Monday on a $1.77 million contract to repair crumbling downtown sidewalks and fix curb ramps that don't meet federal accessibility rules.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $76M Eagle River road deal with sole bidder
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on a $76 million road maintenance contract for Eagle River, Chugiak, and Birchwood with McKenna Brothers, the only bidder.

Anchorage Assembly takes up wipes ban in city sewers June 23
Anchorage Assembly takes a first reading June 23 on an ordinance banning all disposable wipes from city sewers, with fines up to $1,000 per violation.

Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on an $859K Eklutna River study
The Anchorage Assembly's $859K Eklutna study isn't a small procurement — it's part of a decades-long fight over fish, hydropower, and tribal claims.

Anchorage seeks $3.5M for plow operators, contracts toward 72-hour standard
Anchorage Assembly will vote June 23 on $3.5 million to hire seven plow operators and expand contracted snow removal, aiming to clear all municipal roads within 72 hours after storms.

Anchorage Assembly to vote June 23 on 5 labor agreements across 4 unions
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on five labor agreements with four unions that relax holiday pay eligibility and add benefits including a steward position and parental leave updates.

Anchorage's hockey community moves to take over its own arenas for $10 a year
Anchorage hockey is buying back its own rinks for $10 a year — and inheriting the maintenance bill that comes with them.

Anchorage city funds carry $45 million in deficits — biggest two still growing
Anchorage owes itself $45M across five funds. The city skipped some accounting reviews; now they're catching up.

Coming up
Anchorage Assembly 2027 Budget Hearing Closing and Vote
Hearing
Anchorage FY27 Budget and CASA Capital Improvement Plan Adoption
Meeting
Anchorage Assembly: State Legislative Program Vote
Meeting
Anchorage Assembly 2027 Budget Final Action
Meeting
Anchorage Assembly School Budget Adoption
Meeting
About Anchorage Assembly
Photo: The Alaska Landmine via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
muni.org ↗Anchorage, AK, USA
The Anchorage Assembly is the elected legislative body of the Municipality of Anchorage. It meets in the Loussac Library chambers, passes ordinances and resolutions, approves the municipal budget and confirms the mayor's appointments, with members elected to represent districts.
The Assembly votes on contracts and the spending of state and federal money, liquor license renewals and protests, rezones, land sales and leases, and rules for candidates who run for city office. Public safety questions also come before it, such as police surveillance rules, winter shelter beds and penalties for repeat public intoxication.
It works alongside municipal departments such as the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage Fire Department, and boards such as the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Platting Board. The Anchorage School Board brings its own requests to the Assembly as well.
More from Anchorage Assembly
Anchorage budget trade-off: schools OR general government, not both, may be coming
Anchorage Assembly: model schools OR general government — not both. A committee member said the underlying situation is a fiscal cliff.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $11M Port construction management deal
Anchorage votes June 23 on $11M in Port engineering contracts. The Port handles 90% of Alaska's freight, so worth a look.

Anchorage Assembly to vote on $1.35M in supportive housing grants
Five Anchorage nonprofits would split $1.35M for supportive housing on June 23. The pandemic-era funding clock is still ticking.

Anchorage homeless residents tell Assembly: shelters worse than jail
Two sets of lived experience meet at Anchorage's homelessness debate: those in shelters and those who watched encampments grow.

Anchorage Assembly reviews missing middle housing overlay for transit corridors
Anchorage has wanted denser transit corridors on paper since 2001 — this opt-in overlay is the city's latest test of whether residents actually mean it.

True North dropped crisis services from Fairview plan after months of pushback
Fairview pushed back. True North revised. No more crisis services in the Fairview building — outpatient and a mobile van instead.

Two Anchorage housing votes on June 23: a tax break and new fees on the same new homes
Anchorage's June 23: a tax break for starter-home buyers, plus new utility fees on the same construction. The math depends on builders.

Anchorage Assembly considers removing duplicative child care licensing rules
Anchorage is moving to repeal four child care licensing rules and amend three more, arguing they duplicate state standards or have not worked, in hopes of easing a chronic shortage of child care centers.

Anchorage Assembly will vote June 23 on $214,684 for a pedestrian safety campaign
Anchorage is getting $214K in federal money for pedestrian safety outreach. The city's pedestrian fatality numbers say, maybe it's overdue?

Anchorage Assembly weighs $254K economic development grant to AEDC
The Anchorage Assembly will vote on a $254,000 grant to the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation to fund economic development work through 2026, including a federal economic strategy.

Anchorage Assembly to vote June 23 on $2.57M in HUD housing grants
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on a $2.57 million federal housing grant plan, but more than $1.2 million has no specific projects assigned yet and will be decided later.

Anchorage ordinance would open industrial zones to adult care facilities
Anchorage Assembly Member Erin Baldwin Day introduced an ordinance to allow adult care facilities in light industrial zones without planning review, citing rapid senior population growth through 2029.

Week of Jun 8
Anchorage Assembly to vote on burying power lines through two East Side parks
Anchorage Assembly will vote on giving Chugach Electric permanent easements through Russian Jack Springs Park and Ira Walker Park to bury power lines underground, improving storm resilience.

Anchorage raises veteran bid preference cap to $50,000
The Anchorage Assembly considered an ordinance creating a new veteran-owned business bid preference capped at $50,000 and simplifying local bidder preferences, to take effect July 1, 2026.

Basher parking plan rises after city estimate showed need for more
Bashing in Basher, but can't unbash what's been bashered.

Anchorage zoning board postpones variance threshold changes
Anchorage zoning board postponed a proposal to raise the setback encroachment threshold from 5 percent to 10 percent, which would let single-family homeowners avoid a $710 public hearing fee.

APOC fines George Martinez after campaign-paid flight to Florida
Oh goodness... I guess campaign finance laws were made for a reason.

Anchorage police to train 10 officers in mental-health crisis response
Anchorage police will train up to ten officers and dispatchers in mental health crisis response this fall using a $50,000 state grant and $1,100 in city matching funds.

Anchorage appropriates $2.5M in federal transit grants for bus fleet
Anchorage Assembly approved $6.6 million in federal and local funding on June 9 to replace aging buses, expand paratransit service, and maintain the People Mover fleet.

Anchorage Assembly postpones public safety commission to July
Assembly kicks can down the road on Public Safety Commission vote

Anchorage transfers Heritage Land Bank parcel for natural burial cemetery
After land transfer from HLB, people are dying to get in there.

Anchorage Assembly to consider letting licensed wildlife operators use air guns in city limits
Anchorage may let licensed wildlife operators use air guns in city limits — sorry, attic squirrels.

Anchorage's alcohol tax can't fund everything it was promised to fund — and a board meeting Tuesday made the tradeoff explicit
Anchorage alcohol tax revenue is dropping to 5.2 million dollars for 2027. • The city must now choose between funding school preschools or emergency homelessness services. • School district preschools face potential cuts while the district manages a 90 million dollar budget gap. • Childcare providers are also asking for a share of the limited funds.

A Pacific Islander nonprofit told an Anchorage homelessness commission its housing assistance program is over-subscribed — and asked for city funding to expand it
Polynesian Association seeks Anchorage funding for housing assistance
