Budget

North Slope Borough ballot carries 11 bond propositions totaling $1.55 billion

North Slope Borough voters will decide on 11 bond propositions totaling $1.55 billion on Oct. 6, alongside races for mayor, five Assembly seats and four school board seats.

by Lucas Brown1mo ago3 min read

Montessori school's September repairs top yearly budget as child care fund grants face cuts

One break-in and a fire inspection blew through an Anchorage Montessori school's yearly repair budget in a month. The city fund that helps is facing cuts.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Cuddy Park skating project left out of Anchorage's draft six-year capital plan

Skaters say they have $1 million lined up for a Cuddy Park facility, but the park isn't in Anchorage's draft capital plan. The Assembly could still add it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage child care fund board asks LaFrance to move pre-K money off cannabis tax

Anchorage's marijuana-tax child care board wants ASD preschool and an early literacy program off its tab next year. The rollover cash that covered them is gone.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 3

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly sets Oct. 5 work session on school activities funding

Ketchikan students, coaches and parents told the borough school activities are turning pay-to-play. The Assembly takes up whether it can help Oct. 5.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 21

Anchorage transit advisory board asks for more city money for AnchorRIDES and bus drivers

Anchorage's transit advisory board wants more city money for AnchorRIDES and five more bus drivers. It didn't say how much, and the Assembly isn't voting yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 10

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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs $569,600 for round-the-clock Fire/EMS dispatch at MatCom

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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.News1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 14

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 2

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Anchorage school district proposes splitting $32 million in one-time state money

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak district asks school board to weigh closing East Elementary in 2027

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 AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Juneau weighs taxing nonprofit sales to help close its budget gap

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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 13

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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 26

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 3

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Oil above $101 puts Alaska's budget on a war in the Persian Gulf

Every dollar oil moves is worth about $35 million to Alaska's treasury. Brent closed above $101 Wednesday, up more than half from a year ago.

by Alaska News2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom Jun 30