Anchorage Daily News

The city plans to hire more police officers next year, and spend millions more on employee health and retirement benefits.

Click to enlarge

Story tools

Comment on this story

E-mail a friend

Print

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Font size : A | A | A

Mayor Mark Begich on Monday described a "stable and predictable" two-year spending plan that he said reflects the community's priorities -- public safety, transportation and economic development -- and doesn't make staff and program cuts like his budget did two years ago.

The plan calls for spending $362.5 million to run city government in 2006, a 9 percent jump from this year's $332.7 million. Looking into 2007, the city anticipates spending $376.9 million, a 4 percent increase from 2006.

The Anchorage Assembly will adopt the 2006-2007 spending plan by the end of this year. But the Assembly only authorizes funding for one year at a time.

The Assembly will review and probably change the mayor's spending proposal in coming months.

Next year, the city will hire 20 more police employees: 16 officers and four nonsworn positions, such as crime lab technologists and a traffic unit clerk. Together, that will cost about $900,000 next year since most won't be hired until midyear. The equipment for those new employees will cost almost $300,000.

The city will also begin to pay the $1.1 million cost for 13 existing school resource officers, sworn officers whose jobs were previously grant-funded.

The most substantial cost increases in coming years will come from personnel health and retirement benefits.

The cost of health care increases more than 13 percent -- from $25.1 million this year to $28.5 million next year. The city's contribution toward public employee retirement programs will rise 32 percent, from $13.5 million to $17.9 million.

The cost of adding 20 new police employees in 2006 will boost 2007's personnel costs by more than $1 million, said Janet Mitson, budget director.

Since Begich took office, the city has added 55 new police officers, with a net gain of 21 officers after retirements and departures.

The Legislature gave the city a $5 million grant that will be used to help offset next year's retirement costs.

Begich said the proposed 2006 budget would require about a 4 percent increase in property tax collections. He expects, however, that will end up being lower, he said. The budget is revised quarterly.

Next year's budget is about $29.7 million more than this year's. The main increases are:

• $7.8 million for debt payments on voter-approved bonds;

• $4.8 million for public retirement costs;

• $9.5 million in pay raises;

• $3.5 million in higher personnel medical costs;

• $3.3 million in new police and police programs; and

• $800,000 in higher fuel costs.

Money to cover those costs comes from: $7.8 million in voter-approved bonds, $6 million dividend from the city-owned Municipal Light & Power, user fees, grants and property taxes.

Higher 911 surcharges will also show up on phone bills this month, which will bring in about $3 million to help pay for technological upgrades to emergency response systems. Some fuel cost increases will partially be soaked up by higher transit fees recently approved by the Assembly.

The budget can be found at the city's Web site, www.muni.org.

The Assembly will begin debating the draft budget at a work session Friday. It will hold public hearings Oct. 25 and Nov. 8, and is scheduled to approve a budget by Nov. 22.

Assemblyman Dan Coffey said the city has made strides toward better managing its people and money. But the Assembly will search for ways to run the city more efficiently, he said.

Coffey said he knows the Assembly department's portion of the budget will end up being less than the draft plan shows. The plan includes staff that have now been dismissed, a controversial move that Coffey said was intended to save money. The plan also includes a lobbyist position that Coffey said "ain't gonna happen."

Begich told reporters the budget is "a welcome change after the unprecedented budget gap we inherited when we first came into office." Two years ago he faced a $33 million budget shortfall.

It's the first time the administration has proposed a two-year plan, which is intended to save the administration on budget planning. Assembly leaders approve of the two-year planning, since the budget doesn't change dramatically from year to year.

Daily News reporter Anne Aurand can be reached at aaurand@adn.com or 257-4591.