Budget
RSSAlaska News tracks budget issues affecting Alaska schools, municipalities, state agencies, and public services.
MatCom adds two fire and EMS dispatch positions paid for by the Mat-Su Borough
MatCom gets two more fire and medical dispatch positions so a second dispatcher and call taker can be on duty around the clock. The borough pays.
by Walter AlaskaNews9h ago2 min read
North Slope crude runs $15 above Alaska's spring forecast, budget group says
Alaska North Slope crude is averaging $90 a barrel, $15 above the spring forecast, potentially adding nearly $1 billion to state revenue this year if prices hold.
by Walter AlaskaNews11h ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly member and budget commission chair to hold spending forum Oct. 27
An Assembly member and the city's budget commission chair take questions on Anchorage spending at a D Street bar. The topic: is there really a fiscal cliff?
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min read
None of Anchorage's district projects got state money this year, city tells Assembly committee
Anchorage asked the state for neighborhood projects and got none. The port got $15 million. Now the city starts its 2027 wish list, due by Dec. 10.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read
Alaska's budget balances this year on high oil and a reduced dividend
Alaska's budget balances this year with $106 million to spare, thanks to oil running $19 a barrel high and a dividend set $1.2 billion below the formula.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Juneau nearly doubled what it gives Eaglecrest this year
Juneau nearly doubled its support for Eaglecrest this year. At the old number, the ski area said it would have to cut more than half its staff.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
Unalaska accepts $3.8 million EPA grant to clear junk cars and scrap metal from its full landfill
Unalaska's landfill filled up with junk cars and scrap metal before the EPA's $3.8 million arrived. The city had already sent one full barge of it away.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 4d ago2 min read
Juneau sets aside $4 million against a $12.9 million flood barrier loan
Juneau set aside $4 million Monday toward a $12.9 million state loan for HESCO flood barriers along the Mendenhall River, covering less than a third of the debt.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
The state is still taking comments on a school rule it dropped last year
Alaska's education department is still taking comments on a rule its board killed 11 months ago. The follow-up the board asked for is harder to find.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028
Anchorage schools project a $9 million fiscal 2028 gap after reserves and assumed energy relief. Officials say underlying cost growth is closer to $40 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Permanent Fund has $5.7B uncommitted after reserving next draw, inflation transfer
The Permanent Fund had $5.7B uncommitted July 31 after reserving $4.1B for the next draw and $1.7B for inflation proofing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Anchorage service-area debate exposes unanswered questions about taxes and emergency coverage
Anchorage Assembly members questioned how service-area taxes match actual fire, emergency and parks coverage. Several answers remain unresolved.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Juneau cut its museum hours by two-thirds and lost half its visitors
Juneau cut its city museum from 56 hours a week down to 22. Visitors and sales fell by about half, which is roughly what you would expect.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Anchorage's school funding gap has shrunk to about $6 million
Anchorage's school funding gap for next year has halved to about $6 million, after the Legislature capped how much the local contribution can grow.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Anchorage's required 2027 school contribution rises to about $138 million
Anchorage owes its schools $138 million next year and may give up to $108 million more. The board says no school closes for money either way.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million for next year
Anchorage's property tax cap rises $18.5 million next year to $381.7 million. Last year the city collected everything it was allowed, minus $325.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Two Fairbanks ordinances would loosen the cap on school district reserves
Fairbanks wants to loosen the cap on what its school district can bank. One ordinance would trim the rule, the other would kill it outright.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
ConocoPhillips' Disclosed Alaska Royalties Fell 58% in Two Years
ConocoPhillips paid $37.97 million in royalties on its federal Alaska leases last year, down 58 percent from 2023, partly on lower oil prices.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Anchorage School Board spends $3 million on classrooms, deepening next year's deficit
Anchorage's school board voted to spend the $3 million on students this year. Next year's hole grew to $9 million and 20 fewer teaching jobs survive.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Anchorage teachers say losing building subs cost them prep time and safety
Anchorage teachers told the school board what losing building subs cost them. The board restored $3.7 million — without promising the subs come back.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Kodiak may close an elementary school its building plan still invests in
Kodiak may close East Elementary in 2027. Three weeks before that was proposed, the board was handed a plan with $5.75 million of work for the building.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Spend $3 million on students now, or save it for next year's hole
Anchorage's school board is deciding whether to spend $3 million on tutoring and staff this year or bank it against a deficit projected above $45 million.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Juneau Assembly votes 6-2 to table nonprofit sales tax ordinance indefinitely
Juneau Assembly voted 6-2 Monday to table a nonprofit sales tax ordinance indefinitely, blocking a measure that would have narrowed tax exemptions starting January 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Parents warn Mat-Su that cutting school nurses puts children at risk
Parents and staff told the Mat-Su school board that cutting nurses puts children at risk, as a Teeland Middle School nurse prepares to leave.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Anchorage coded most sampled spending to the wrong account, audit finds
Anchorage miscoded 72% of sampled spending, an audit found — because nobody ever wrote down what the city's accounting categories actually mean.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
The Permanent Fund's budget is up $5.3 million, and most of it goes to managers
The fund that pays for most of Alaska's government is raising its own budget $5.3 million. Most of that is fees to outside money managers.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min read
Anchorage owns an aging arts center, and repairs keep outpacing the budget
A heating repair at Anchorage's city-owned performing arts center is running 71 percent over the budget the Assembly set for it back in May.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
An ordinance would tighten oversight of Anchorage's staffing overruns
Anchorage's government has run past its budgeted position count five years running. Three Assembly members want future overruns to need the mayor's sign-off.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
North Slope oil is running below the state's forecast so far, and the price is running above it
Alaska's oil is flowing below the state's revenue forecast while the price runs above it. The two effects roughly offset, and the year is only ten weeks old.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly takes up next year's budget priorities
The Anchorage Assembly takes up its budget priorities for the coming year Tuesday, along with two appointments to city commissions.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs $2.8M state payment, most of it for winter shelter
Anchorage cut $1 million in contracted surge shelter beds when alcohol tax revenue fell short. State money would put them back ahead of winter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min read
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the money is spoken for
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the state has already spent it — on the budget, dividend and inflation protection, reviving a fiscal fight.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago4 min read
The White House wanted the Denali Commission closed, and it grew instead
The White House proposed closing the Denali Commission. Congress funded it, and the agency ended up administering money many times its own budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read
Kodiak district asks school board to weigh closing East Elementary in 2027
Kodiak may close East Elementary in 2027. Five weeks before proposing that, the district asked the state for $5.75 million to renovate the building.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
The Permanent Fund wants $215 million to run itself
The Permanent Fund wants $215.4 million to run itself next year, three-quarters of it going to the outside firms that manage the money.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Juneau weighs taxing nonprofit sales to help close its budget gap
Juneau is weighing whether nonprofits should pay sales tax like small businesses — a move that could raise $3.3 million but squeeze groups like the symphony.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Districts learned about $115 million after school had already started
Alaska school districts learned they were getting $115 million the day after school started, because the money depended on oil revenue counted Aug. 31.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money
Anchorage schools will split $32 million in one-time state money, spending more than half this year and saving the rest to shrink a $40 million deficit expected next summer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Anchorage's surplus school buildings could bring in money, the district says
Anchorage school officials say surplus buildings could generate revenue, among them Campbell STEM, closed in February and the subject of a dismissed lawsuit.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Mat-Su Assembly rejects lowering its property tax cap to 7 mills
Mat-Su's Assembly rejected lowering its tax cap to 7 mills after the borough warned it would force $22 million in cuts — schools and ambulances included.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read