Anchorage Assembly FY26 Budget Work Session - October 24, 2025

This meeting marked the second of two work sessions dedicated to reviewing the FY26 proposed budget for the City of Anchorage. Held at the Mayor's Conference Room, the Assembly and administration discussed general government operating budgets, capital improvements, and specific enterprise allocations including utilities, the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACE Fund), and public safety-related departments. Key topics included organizational restructures within Community Development, staffing challenges in Public Works and Development Services, and complex funding debates surrounding the ACE Fund and marijuana tax revenues.

Consent Calendar

• No routine consent calendar items were explicitly presented or voted on during this work session; the meeting proceeded directly to discussion and Q&A on budget line items.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No formal public comment period was conducted during this segment of the meeting; members of the public were informed that the session was being recorded and streamed via Teams, with further opportunities for public input to be scheduled for subsequent meetings or follow-ups.

Discussion Items

Library Department

• Proposal: The Library seeks a 10.3 million dollar operating budget for FY26, featuring a net increase of approximately $300,000 from the FY25 revised budget.
• Position: Director Harrison expressed full support for the addition of a new Youth Services Associate Librarian position, arguing it will enhance safety and customer service by covering the newly consolidated teen and youth areas.
• Revenue Generation: The administration supports a proactive strategy to increase room rental revenue by $45,000, down from an initial target of $100,000, to fund the transition costs. Assembly member Mr. Johnson expressed cautious optimism regarding the ability to meet revenue targets given the current shortfall in the target.

Public Transportation

• Proposal: A budget proposal involving a new Public Safety Division with four additional staff positions, resulting in a net change of approximately $1 million. The proposal also includes capital bond requests.
• Position: Director Barbara Public Transit advocated for maintaining current service levels while noting that making rides free for seniors over 65 would result in a $700,000 loss in fare revenue, though it could offset $200,000 in Anchor Rides costs.
• Revenue Analysis: Assembly member Mr. Thompson noted a 20% revenue drop from 2024 to 2025; the administration attributed this to a shift from single-ride tickets to heavily discounted monthly/yearly passes and the inclusion of Providence Hospital employees in the UPass program. Assembly member Mr. Constant expressed concern regarding the potential displacement of fare-paying riders if rides were made free for seniors, questioning the net impact on the budget.

Community Development Reorganization & Capacity

• Proposal: The administration proposed reorganizing the department structure, splitting Planning, Development Services, and GIS from Public Works Administration to report under a new Community Development Director (Lance Wilbur), while Public Works Administration remains separate.
• Position: Mr. Wilbur expressed support for the reorganization, stating it fosters better integration between land use, transportation, and housing policy.
• Opposition/Concern: Assembly member Mr. Constant expressed strong opposition, arguing that the current structure has failed to address highway disparities in the Fairview neighborhood and warning that the new structure risks creating "another silo" without a concrete plan to break down barriers between transportation and housing policy.
• Capacity & Staffing: Assembly member Ms. Baldwin Day expressed concern that the department lacks the staff capacity to meet the Mayor's goal of 10,000 homes in 10 years. She demanded a quantitative staffing study to avoid bottlenecks. Director Browse and Director Wilbur acknowledged the challenge but stated that staffing levels are tied to bond-funded project availability and revenue streams, making a definitive headcount projection difficult without knowing future revenue levels. Assembly member Mr. Presburdia (likely Presbury) reinforced the need for clear data linking resource investment to outcomes, contrasting the lack of visibility in development services with the clarity seen in police staffing plans.

Development Services

• Proposal: A $12.8 million operating budget, primarily affected by the removal of a one-time $100,000 nuisance abatement amendment.
• Position: The administration clarified that nuisance abatement funding remains a priority and is replenished through recovered costs and new fines. Director Greg Soule expressed full commitment to continuing blight reduction efforts, including forensic accounting and lien foreclosure strategies.
• Code Enforcement: Assembly member Mr. Perez Rodia inquired about the lack of a property maintenance code to enforce building upkeep; Director Soule confirmed the city does not currently have an ICC property maintenance code and that no enforcement exists for building disrepair unless it constitutes a danger.
• Software Implementation: The department anticipates the rollout of a new online permitting system by September 2026, which is expected to reduce staffing needs for permit counters.

Planning Department

• Proposal: A budget of $3.75 million maintaining 25 employees.
• Position: The administration reported difficulty recruiting a Senior Planner, leading to a position rewrite as an Associate Planner which reportedly dropped community engagement responsibilities. Assembly Member Mr. Gooker expressed concern that the department has lost critical engagement capacity, though the director noted success in recent recruitment by adjusting minimum requirements.
• Comprehensive Plan: Director Babb indicated that a full comprehensive plan rewrite could cost $700,000 to $800,000 and require 7-8 new staff members, potentially taking eight years to complete. She stated the department is overdue for an update but prioritizes immediate housing and land use crises over the long-term planning process.

Public Works & Transportation

• Proposal: Public Works Administration budget reflects organizational changes to separate administration from Community Development. PM&E (Project Management and Engineering) faces significant vacancy challenges.
• Position: Director Kent Colhays confirmed that 6 out of 20 PME positions are vacant, with engineering vacancies being particularly difficult to fill due to competitive private sector wages. He expressed full support for the vision to convert four-lane roads to three or two lanes (specifically citing the Spindler Road and Fireweed Lane projects) to improve safety and reduce speed.
• Linkage: Director Colhays and Director Wilbur affirmed their commitment to maintaining a close working relationship between transportation and housing policy despite the structural separation, stating they meet daily to address shared goals.

Human Resources (HR)

• Proposal: A zero-change operating budget with the personnel count dropping from 41 to 40 due to internal realignment.
• Position: Director Billingsley expressed satisfaction with the reduction of vacancies from 11 to 2, attributing the success to active recruitment and temporary employment contracts managed through the LAMe program.

ACE Fund & Marijuana Tax

• Proposal: FY26 budget projects marijuana tax collections of ~$300,000 (down from $800,000) and a total spend of ~$8 million, utilizing existing fund balance.
• Position: Chair Brawley and Ms. Quinn Davidson expressed disappointment that the Alcohol Tax funds were shifted to pay for Anchorage School District prepaid classrooms ($2 million) under the ACE Fund, noting this bypasses the board's preference to spend additive funds on new child care programs.
• Concerns: Assembly member Mr. Johnson raised concern that the depletion of the marijuana tax fund balance to zero by FY27 will result in a significant revenue reduction for the fund's programs in subsequent years. Director Browse noted that the fund's revenue is insufficient to cover the proposed spending unless new revenue streams are identified or the tax rate increases.

Key Outcomes

• Continued Deliberation: The Assembly and administration agreed to continue the budget review in a subsequent work session on November 7th, focusing on remaining departments and utilities.
• Data Requests: Assembly members requested specific quantitative staffing studies and capacity analysis regarding the Community Development Department to address the 10,000 homes goal. The administration agreed to continue these conversations offline.
• Policy Directives: Assembly members called for a deeper investigation into the lack of a property maintenance code and a comprehensive review of the comprehensive plan process and timeline.
• Scheduling: The meeting concluded with a lunch break scheduled for 1:30 PM, to be followed by the remaining enterprise and utility budget discussions. The marijuana tax allocation for the Anchorage School District was noted as a point of contention to be revisited by the ACE Fund Board.