Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance rolled out her first budget proposal today, outlining increased funding for the city’s homelessness response, snow-plowing and child care.
The $635 million budget proposal is a starting point for the Anchorage Assembly, which will begin work on the budget next week and aim to finalize it in mid-November. Other priorities highlighted by the mayor’s administration include additional funding for traffic calming and safety efforts, trail and park improvements and pay raises for many municipal employees.
“A budget is not only a reflection of our values and priorities, but the vehicle through which they become results,” Mayor LaFrance said. “Our team has focused on building a budget that funds strategies to address the community’s biggest challenges while delivering quality public services each day.”
The proposed spending on homelessness comes from multiple directions, including funding for a year-round shelter and a winter shelter, $2 million focused on moving people into permanent housing and a 10% increase for camp abatement efforts. It also requests $4.1 million to fully fund the Anchorage Safety Patrol, which is proposed to be moved from the Anchorage Health Department to the Fire Department.
Snow removal was a major issue heading into this year’s election after the city struggled under former Mayor Dave Bronson to keep up with heavy dumps of snow with an aging fleet of vehicles. Last week, the Anchorage Assembly approved a $3.5 million purchase of new equipment with maintenance money that wasn’t spent under the Bronson administration.
The LaFrance administration wants to continue that investment with a proposed 5.7% increase in operator pay. One of the big complaints heard last year was that pay lagged well behind private operators, luring people away from the municipal workforce. LaFrance has also proposed a levy for the April 2025 ballot that would raise another $3.5 million for the maintenance of plow equipment.
Child care has also gained more attention in recent years as advocates have highlighted the dire situation many families face with high costs and limited availability. LaFrance’s budget will mark the first year that the city’s Child Care and Early Education Fund will be used, with a proposal to pay out $2 million in stimulus payments to the child care sector and another $2 million for pilot projects to increase the affordability of child care.
Other budget highlights include $4.5 million for traffic calming efforts, $7.3 million in trail and park improvements and $1.35 million in renovations for the Anchorage Senior Center over the next two years.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
