Ona Brause

Anchorage's 2027 budget leaves out money for downtown police foot patrols

“that additional appropriation doesn't exist in 2027. So we either need to find some other revenue source to fund the OT cost associated with that operation.”

Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028

Anchorage officials fail to agree on shared school-closure committee

Anchorage service-area debate exposes unanswered questions about taxes and emergency coverage

“Through the chair, I believe the practical answer would be yes”

Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million for next year

“We have a, we have a, we have a formula cap that says you can only add this number of this category of things to the year over year. That doesn't equate to a specific number outcome on a recurring basis”

Anchorage weighs $2.8M state payment, most of it for winter shelter

“there will be an appropriation that comes forward to the Assembly once the community assistance number is final and known”

Anchorage keeps blowing past overtime budgets stuck on a 2010 baseline

“the overtime amounts have not been adjusted within the last few years to accommodate increased salaries”

Anchorage police and fire overtime budgets built on 2010 math, OMB says

“we're working from a base budget of about 2010, and if the 2010 overtime number was never adjusted, then that would be the number we are working with every single year.”

Anchorage city funds carry $45 million in deficits — biggest two still growing

“this fund and the way this fund is recovered should be calculated and analyzed on an annual basis. There were a few years where that was not occurring, and during that time frame, the costs of the claims also increased. So the inflationary impacts of the cost of everything combined with the, the sort of lost corrections on an annual basis to do this annual true-up that we have now done sort of ballooned the deficit that we saw occurring.”

Anchorage budget trade-off: schools OR general government, not both, may be coming

“if it is about reimagining the funding of a specific program or of cutting a specific program, we would need to know that by August at the latest, I think.”