A revised 2015 city budget submitted to the Anchorage Assembly for approval would use "about $7 million in unspent money" to fund several programs and reduce taxes for most property owners, Mayor Dan Sullivan said Wednesday.
Sullivan said the surplus came from savings in 2014 department budgets.
Homeowners would generally pay less than they did in 2014 due to the surplus, a rise in property values and new construction. The average mill rate would drop from 7.63 mills to 7.53 mills, a reduction of about $10 in taxes on every $100,000 of valuation.
"With new commercial and residential development, we're collecting more money from more people," Sullivan said, addressing the media Wednesday from a podium fronted by a sign that declared Anchorage's AAA bond rating.
"We're presently in the strongest financial position the city has ever been in," he added. "Commercial enterprises don't come to a city unless they feel it's a good economic opportunity for them."
Part of the money would be designated to help fund police and fire academies, Sullivan said, and to cover costs associated with the problematic SAP software system. Designed to automate city government functions, the project has missed deadlines, gone well over budget and remains unfinished. Sullivan called it a painful process but said implementation is close.
Sullivan also said some of the surplus would go to a pilot sobriety project with Schick Shadel Hospital. The Seattle addiction treatment center touts a high success rate.
"They use a kind of aversion therapy that's different from the 12-step programs," Sullivan said.
He said some residents of Karluk Manor have been able to reduce their drinking and might be good candidates for Schick Shadel's treatment model. "It actually might be a pretty efficient way to get people off their addiction once and for all," he said.
Sullivan admitted the cost of Schick Shadel, $22,000 per patient, is high. But he said it is less than what the city now spends on services to chronic public inebriates.
"Presently our treatments just aren't taking," he said. "(Schick Shadel) has potential. We've got to try something different."
The Assembly is set to discuss the administration's budget proposal at its April 28 meeting.