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The State of Alaska has 142 active boards and commissions that regulate professions such as doctors, trades such as hairdressers, and industries such as fishing. While most of the Alaska Policy Forum’s attention […]
Selling up to $5 billion in bonds could either place Alaska further in the red or, as State officials hope, successfully decrease the multi-billion dollar pension unfunded liability. (This is a repost of an article we posted in June 2010)
The irony and hypocrisy is simply overwhelming. Here is the CEO of Alaska Municipal League arguing against shifting PERS costs to local governments even though she is covered in PERS as a non-government employee!
Sin taxes and cuts to the Anchorage Police Department dominated public forums for the Municipality of Anchorage Fiscal Year 2012 budget.
An often overlooked provision in Alaska statute allows cities to exempt themselves from campaign financial disclosure requirements, and several Alaskan boroughs have made the move to include the exemptions on the upcoming October ballots.
(AlaskaWatchdog.org) After several years of internal discussion and organization, the Legislative Finance Division has completed a project that adds more than $750 million into the General Fund in an effort to simplify State finances.
(AlaskaWatchdog.org) The Department of Corrections is partnering with the Anchorage Police Department to test drive a new program intended to deal with probation violations more quickly and effectively.
(AlaskaWatchdog.org) After struggling with more than a few gaps in their evidence database, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers are on the brink of updating a system that has been in place since 1984.
(AlaskaWatchdog.org) Facing rising costs and limited room for expansion, Alaska charter schools may soon be a thing of the past.
After two full days of presentations, discussions and review, the Alaska Retirement Management Board approved pension contribution rates today for fiscal year 2012 in an effort to reduce the multi-billion dollar unfunded liability.
Despite an additional appropriation in the recently approved capital budget, reports of failed designs continue to plague the more than $750 million Port of Anchorage expansion project.
As long as Alaska receives Federal funding for education and transportation, “maintenance of effort” (MOE) stipulations would prevent the State from making budget cuts in those areas.
The health care reform bill passed earlier this year included significant expansions of state medicaid programs. Officials are still adding up the costs.
A tentative contract between the Anchorage School District and the local teacher’s union mandates the district make monthly insurance contributions for every teacher, regardless of whether they are covered by union insurance.
By Kirsten Adams May 18, 2010 Nearly two years after the Anchorage Assembly approved more than $130 million in union contracts, local businesses claim provisions in the contracts are wasting city money and […]
Alaska will be unable to fund 100 percent of the PERS obligations until 2034, according to an evaulation by a consulting firm. Rising salaries are creating a larger liability according to officials.