Assembly Rules Committee Meeting - September 11, 2025
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Assembly Rules Committee Meeting - September 11, 2025
The Assembly Rules Committee of Anchorage, Alaska, met on September 11, 2025, from 1:02 PM to approximately 2:30 PM. The meeting included reports from the Mayor, Clerk, Legislative Services, and Ombudsman, followed by discussion items on the Ethics Board annual report, boards and commissions sunset provisions, and assembly meeting procedures. No formal votes were taken. Chair Constant opened with remarks commemorating 9/11 and condemning political violence.
Reports & Updates
- Mayor Suzanne LaFrance recognized the Anchorage Fire Department for receiving the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, nominated by Firefighter Benjamin Russell. She also noted that the former Golden Lion Hotel will provide outpatient treatment services, thanking municipal staff for their collaboration.
- Clerk's Office: Reported that Jasmine Acres and Chris Isleffi earned Certified Municipal Clerk designations; Liz in elections earned a certification from the National Association of Election Officials. An RFP for codification services is underway. Elections received a new initiative petition (topic: elections every other November in line with state elections), currently under legal review. Postcards for undeliverable addresses will go out in December.
- Legislative Services: Noted giant maps installed in public facilities and upcoming events: an FCC Local Lens on the assembly process (Sept 24) and on the budget (October). A luncheon for state legislative aides is scheduled for next Thursday. Youth representatives were sworn in and oriented.
- Ombudsman's Office: Reported nearing 1,000 contacts for 2025, on track for 1,500. A new associate ombudsman, Drew Ford, will start September 29. The office intends to improve social media presence, with coordination with the Clerk on records compliance.
Ethics Board Annual Report
Ethics Officer Paul Vosti presented the report. Key points:
- Process improvement: Notices of intent to respond to public solicitations are now processed more quickly (same-day sign-off) by Vosti and Joe Busa, avoiding delays from board meetings.
- Complaint statistics: The number of disclosure of economic interest forms rose sharply (136 in the current year vs. 63 the prior year and 46 five years ago), attributed to aggressive filling of board and commission vacancies.
- Conflict of interest clarity: The board noted that the ethics code could benefit from greater clarity in defining conflicts of interest. Members discussed that the standard now requires a reasonable probability of conflict, but further refinement may be considered.
- Tempo: No backlog; complaints and advisory opinions are taken up at the next scheduled board meeting. With all five board positions filled, quorum issues are reduced.
- Privilege: Chair Constant confirmed that assembly members' discussions with the Ethics Officer are not attorney-client privileged, but discussions with Assembly Counsel Joe Busa are. Members are encouraged to use Busa for confidential legal advice.
Boards and Commissions Update
Vice Chair Anna Brawley introduced a draft resource document listing all municipal boards and commissions, noting charter-required vs. code-created, adjudicatory vs. advisory functions. The document is a working draft.
She then discussed AO 2025-77, which extends sunset dates for multiple boards and commissions by three years. The ordinance will come before the assembly on October 7, 2025. Brawley previewed an amendment to permanently sunset the Urban Design Commission after a transition period to reassign its functions to other boards (e.g., Planning and Zoning). She also noted possible amendments from other members to remove sunset provisions on a few boards, making them permanent.
Members debated the value of sunset provisions. Chair Constant noted that sunsets trigger internal audits, which can be routine and not always informative; removing sunset provisions reduces audit burden. The Housing, Homeless, and Neighborhood Development Commission (HHAND) was highlighted as having many duties but limited staff capacity. Some expressed that boards should be added sparingly given the many existing bodies.
Assembly Procedures Discussion
Vice Chair Brawley led an informal Q&A on meeting procedures:
- Waving reading: The practice of reading only the title or gist of an ordinance rather than the full text is permissible; the clerk identifies the key point. Descriptive titles are important for public understanding.
- Unanimous consent vs. recorded vote: Chair Constant explained he typically uses unanimous consent on non-divisive procedural matters but always calls for a recorded vote on final actions to create a clear record.
- Queue and motions: Members must generally be in the queue to make substantive motions like postponement or amendment, though points of order and information can interrupt. The chair aims for fairness, balancing those who have not yet spoken.
- Substantive vs. procedural: An upcoming ordinance will address defining substantive vs. procedural motions, especially for joint meetings with the school district and the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council.
Public Comments & Testimony
None were offered.
Key Outcomes & Upcoming Meetings
- No votes were taken during this committee meeting.
- AO 2025-77 (sunset extensions) will return to the assembly on October 7, with possible amendments to remove sunset provisions on some boards and to sunset the Urban Design Commission after a transition.
- A special assembly meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 12, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM, including a 120-day memo work session.
- The public safety task force (reimagining the Public Safety Advisory Commission) will hold online panels on September 25 and October 23, and in-person deliberations on November 13 and 20.
Meeting Transcript
We've start in one minute. All right. Why don't we do this? Good afternoon, everybody. I'll call this meeting, Assembly Rules Committee to order. Today is September eleventh, twenty twenty-five. We're on the calendar from one to three p.m. It's now one o' two p.m. We'll start with introductions, Mr. Robert. Felix. Daniel Bull. Anna Brawley. Christopher Constant on the phone. We have Member Silvers. Yes. Thank you. Member Myers. Yeah, thanks, Chair. Thank you, Member Gerker. Yeah, thank you. Thanks. We also have uh Paula Vosti and the ethics report today. We have the mayor and the chief of staff, we have Assembly Council and the Clerk's Office present. So and legislative services. Um I'll go ahead and dive in. My report will be brief. Um, as everybody knows today is September eleventh. Commemoration of one of the darker days in our country's history. And also I would note that political violence rang out across America yesterday. And uh there's just no room in our system for this kind of activity, even though it seems like it is increasing more frequently of late. And so just uh cognizant and um recognizing the fragility of life and the difficulty of people being able to participate in the public process and the threats that seem to be circulating. So we'll just note that. Um, we have a kind of a light agenda today. We'll be discussing the ethics board annual report. Vice Chair Brawley's gonna brief us on kind of boards and commissions, activities and sunset provisions, etc. We're gonna have a discussion about assembly procedures, questions and answers, kind of thoughts on how things work that are less formal than the code, our customs and practices, and to help answer questions that members may have. Then we'll discuss kind of ongoing business. So uh that's the agenda for today, and I'll hand it off to the mayor. Thank you, Chair Constant, and hello, everyone. Uh, thanks for the opportunity to speak today. Um, Chris, I appreciate your remarks about violence nationwide, and I think that the assembly is a really great example of how we can all work together and focus on problem solving and have civil discourse. And you know, as we remember those who perished, those who lost loved ones and colleagues on that horrible day. I want to recognize the first responders, those who were on the scene on that day, who sacrificed in some cases with their own lives and acknowledge those first responders in our community who serve us above putting the community and individuals above their own selves. And that we are very lucky to have such a professional police and fire departments to have both professional police and fire departments here, and to also thank the assembly for their ongoing support of our public safety personnel in our community. I want to mention that last Thursday I had the opportunity to be present when the Anchorage Fire Department received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. This is a really big deal. And our fire department was one of those recipients. Firefighter Benjamin Russell, who serves in the Guard, nominated the fire department. And this award is recognition for exemplary support of National Guard and Reserve members.
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