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House Majority adds $284 million back to budget

Suzanne Downing
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House Majority adds $284 million back to budget

PFD IS IN SEPARATE BILL AND IS NOW $1,605 PER ELIGIBLE ALASKAN

A bill that was originally intended to fund the Permanent Fund dividend ended up with no dividend at all, but added back $284 million in spending in the Operating Budget for the current Fiscal Year 2020

That means the cuts to the Operating Budget, once at $444 million through Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s vetoes, are much more modest.

With the House add-backs, spending reductions are just $160 million.

HB 2001 returns $110 million to the University of Alaska system, and $77 million for Medicaid. It also adds back $5 million for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and restores funds to public radio, the State Arts Council, Alaska Legal Services Corp., Alaska Seafood Marketing, myriad education programs and $20 million for the Senior Benefits Program, an entitlement for low- to moderate-income Alaskans over the age of 65.

The measure now goes to the Senate for its consideration. Must Read Alaska has learned the Senate is likely to accept the bill “as is.”

Members of the Republican House Minority said they felt double-crossed by the Democrat-led Majority, because they had agreed to put the full $3,000 Permanent Fund dividend in this bill, but when it got to the floor, it had no such provision.

The bill passed along caucus lines.

The House Democrat-led Majority has a new PFD bill, HB 2003, which moved out of Finance Committee and is in the third reading on the House floor. The funding source for the PFD is entirely decoupled from the oil revenues from the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account.

Starting this year, if HB 2003 passes, the dividend will have to compete with government program spending, and in future years, it will not compete well, critics say. In fact, the dividend has already been cut by 53 percent from the statutory amount of $3,000 and is likely to get smaller and smaller, as legislators cannot control their appetite for spending.

HB 2001 and HB 2003 are almost metaphors for what is the big question: Shall government and university administrators get paid, or will the people receive their dividends? It’s become an us-vs-them debate in Alaska, between the working class and the professional class.

The argument that Gov. Dunleavy has repeated throughout his presentations in the past two years reflects what is happening in the Legislature this week: The dividend, if not paid according to statute — whatever that statutory amount is — will be gone in this decade.

PFD HOLIDAY?

Another concept heard around the Capitol in recent days is the term “PFD Holiday,” the idea that the Legislature may simply not pay the PFD for a year or more and characterize it as a time-out period. It’s a concept that has yet to be heard in the public arena.

Whether it’s half a dividend or a PFD Holiday, the current actions in the Legislature are likely to draw a referendum by PFD activists, which would appear on next year’s General Election ballot.

Berkowitz declares state of civil emergency

Suzanne Downing
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31
Berkowitz declares state of civil emergency
Last week, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz all but gave his blessing to the Occupy to Overcome group that had set up a tent city on the Delaney Park Strip.
This week, Berkowitz has declared a state of civil emergency in Anchorage, which will last 48 hours or more. It is his response to the city’s shelters losing $5.8 million in state grants.
For some, it was political theater from a mayor who on social media describes himself as liking “bloodsport” politics.
For others, it was two years too late — Anchorage has been in a death spiral under his watch.
Civil emergencies are reserved for earthquakes, floods, fires, and terrorism. There’s nowhere in America that a civil emergency has been called because a state refused to pay for a city’s homeless services. Certainly, San Francisco hasn’t declare a state of emergency because the state refused to give grants to private nonprofit shelters.
Seattle’s mayor called for a civil emergency due to a severe winter storm that was approaching the city in February.
In Alaska, they’re now for government budget cuts that were known about since February.
In Anchorage, $5.8 million is one percent of the city’s budget.
The way Berkowitz explains it is that the civil emergency is to address the impacts of state budget cuts that “pose dire and imminent public health and safety risks.”
Municipal Code 3.80.060 allows the mayor to make use of all available resources of the municipal government, including municipal personnel, to cope with an emergency.
That may include reassigning city workers to work in areas not covered in their union contracts in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare.
It’s the closest tool he has to reorganize workflow across departments, because only a governor can declare martial law.
Earlier this month, Berkowitz gave his tacit approval to Occupy to Overcome encampments that had taken over the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage.
“This is an unprecedented decision for an unprecedented situation,” Berkowitz said. “Existing shelters have lost funding at a time when demand for their services is projected to skyrocket. First responders and health care professionals are anticipating a massive surge in 911 and emergency room calls, and it is imperative that we meet this impending humanitarian crisis with the resources that we deploy when responding to all emergencies.”
Berkowitz is giving advanced notice that this not his fault — it’s Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s.
Some say Berkowitz already has an emergency: Anchorage has an unprecedented street drug and alcohol problem, human trafficking, murder rates exceeding historic records, and gangs running criminal organizations across the city that have made Anchorage a notorious crime center in the United States.
Berkowitz also has a port that is collapsing, and under his watch the cost of repairs have gone from $300 million to over $2 billion. He has a software problem with the SAP payroll system that is now well over $100 million.
Berkowitz has exploded the municipal budget from under $471 million before he took office in 2015 to $524 million in 2019.
The mayor’s reasons include:
  • $5.8 million cut in Anchorage-specific services to homeless, resulting in a projected 800 more unsheltered homeless in our community, adding significantly to the burden of first responders and pushing vulnerable individuals and families beyond their tipping point;
  • the temporary closing of Brother Francis Shelter, forcing 240 homeless individuals to become immediately unsheltered on Aug. 1, and the dramatic reduction of services by 140 people after its reopening on Aug. 5;
  • cuts to Medicaid, senior benefits, legal services, food banks, domestic violence case management and support, and behavioral health, causing public health and public safety emergencies and the eviction of our most vulnerable residents;
  • 41 percent cut to state’s contribution to the University of Alaska, resulting in the projected loss of 700 jobs in Anchorage and projected to push Anchorage into recession.
The Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency is in effect for 48 hours. It began at 3 pm on July 24, 2019. The Anchorage Assembly must meet on Friday to deliberate and vote on an extension of the declaration. Proclamation of Emergency is at this link.

Human Rights Commission upheaval: Stewart is out as executive director

Suzanne Downing
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20
Human Rights Commission upheaval: Stewart is out as executive director

The Alaska Human Rights Commission today voted 4-3 to remove Marilyn Stewart as executive director, after she had only spent two weeks on the job.

Stewart was hired by the volunteer board after the previous executive director was fired for harassing a worker who had been doing contract repairs on the building where the commission is located.

The three men on the commission voted to retain Stewart, while the four women on the commission voted to let her go. No further information has been released by Chairwoman Debbie Fullenwider.

This story will be updated.

IBU calls strike, State says it would be an illegal strike

Suzanne Downing
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18
IBU calls strike, State says it would be an illegal strike

The Inland Boatman’s Union has called a strike, as a result of the impasse between the State and the union.  Word has reached Must Read Alaska that the ferries are being tied up as they reach their next port.

A letter from Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka was sent to the IBU workforce today saying that she hopes the strike will not take place before efforts to reach an agreement are “fully exhausted,”

“In my opinion, a strike should be an action of last resort, not first resort,” she wrote.

Tshibaka’s letter continued:

“As you may know, the Department of Administration (DOA) has been in negotiations for a new contract with the IBU for some time now. While no new contract agreement has yet been reached, I hope that the IBU will continue meeting with the State and we will soon have our agreement.

“On multiple occasions over the last week, in a spirit of good faith, we asked IBU leadership for another meeting with us and the Federal Mediator and suggesting the State had some new ideas to bridge our differences. The IBU has chosen to not meet with us, and instead focus more on an unnecessary strike vote.

“If we have a strike, the Alaska Marine Highway system may well be shut down and many State residents and visitors may well be adversely affected, some in a very serious and hurtful way. It is unfortunate that such unnecessary harm will be put upon on our friends, fellow employees, neighbors and visitors. We urge all employees to report for work as scheduled.

“We have been asked what happens to employees’ pay and benefits during a strike and how long thestrike may last. First, an employee on strike will, of course, receive no pay from the State for any time spent on strike. Second, employees on strike may have to pay all their premium costs for their health insurance through COBRA, or possibly lose their entire coverage, depending upon circumstances. Third, we have no idea how long a strike will last.

“Finally, the State believes that any strike is unlawful and unprotected. If this is true, then striking employees could be subject to discipline, including termination, for striking in support of illegal bargaining proposals.

“If you have questions about the open issues in the negotiations, please contact your IBU leadership.

“I hope this communication answers some of the questions you may have about possible personal impacts of a strike. If you have further questions, please submit them in writing to the Division of Personnel and Labor Relations ([email protected]) for our response and answer.

[Read: State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent]

Coast Guard bill passes House, onward to Senate

Suzanne Downing
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1
Coast Guard bill passes House, onward to Senate

The U.S. House passed H.R. 3409 – the Coast Guard Authorization Act, with funding for the Coast Guard and Federal Maritime Commission through 2021. According to the office of U.S. Congressman Don Young, the measure has several Alaska-specific provisions supported by Congressman Young. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Alaska-specific provisions supported by Congressman Young in this legislation include:

  • Language mandating that the Coast Guard complete a route study on the Chuckchi Sea, Bering Strait, and Bering Sea within one year as well as complete a route study on the Alaska Arctic coast within five years to help facilitate the movement of vessel traffic.
  • Two coastwise endorsements for Alaska operators to support the state’s tourism industry.
  • Clarifies conveyance of Coast Guard property at Point Spencer to be carried out in a timelier manner.
  • Relief for small and uninspected passenger vessels rebuilt in the United States to allow domestic use along coasts.
  • Establishing of a demonstration program through the Coast Guard to assess the feasibility of using unmanned aircraft systems for operations in the Arctic.

State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent

Suzanne Downing
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34
State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent

STATE TYING UP BOATS, REFUNDING TICKETS

Talks are now at an impasse between the State of Alaska and the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU), one of three unions that represent Alaska Marine Highway System state workers. IBU has rejected contract offers made by the State.

The IBU has announced it will strike as early as Wednesday.

IBU represents approximately 430 unlicensed crewmembers on state ferries who perform the unlicensed work on vessels, including the deck, engine and hospitality side of ferry operations. The other two unions have agreed to contracts, and IBU is a holdout.

“Contract negotiations have been ongoing since December 2016 and, every offer – including concessions on pay increases, lump sum payments, and benefit enhancements – has been turned down by the IBU,” said Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka.

“Over the course of two-and-a-half years, the State met with the IBU 38 times, only a few of them with the Dunleavy administration, and participated in mediated sessions to address its requests in good faith. It is our goal to agree to a contract that is fair and equitable to both IBU employees and the State. We bumped up our last offer 25% because we do not want to disrupt coastal operations in the height of Alaska’s tourism season,” she said.

The Department of Administration is responsible for negotiating state worker union contracts.

One of the existing contract terms the union seeks to eliminate is the current cost of living differential, which ensures equity by preventing employees who live out-of-state from receiving a higher salary than their counterparts who live in-state.

The IBU wants all out-of-state employees to get the same salary as Alaskan employees. The IBU further requests uncommon wage increases – increases most other unionized state employees have not received – and that the State continue covering health care costs with no contribution from IBU employees.

During the latest negotiations, the State sought to keep the existing cost of living differential, to offer wages that are fiscally responsible and fair to employees, and to require employees make health care cost contributions of $60/month for individual coverage and $160/month for family coverage.

The State offered a one-time lump sum payment of $1,500 to offset employee health care costs that would be included with employees’ first paycheck in January 2020.

Under the previous administration, the State offered IBU employees a 5% pay increase over 3 years, but IBU rejected that offer as well. 

The IBU wants a 9 percent pay increase over the next three years, free coffee and water for employees on the ships, and giving workers the power to choose which ships they work on.

If agreed upon, this would effectively take away the State’s ability to manage the ferries and its employees in the most efficient, safe and cost effective manner possible.

“We are disappointed that the Inlandboatmen’s Union is considering an economic strike against the Marine Highway System. Our offer, in context with other labor contracts, is fair on economic terms,” said John MacKinnon, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation.

“This is the busiest time of year for the Alaska Marine Highways and a shutdown of the ferry system will impact residents, visitors and commerce,” he said.

“At this time, we will focus on the safety of the passengers, crew and vessels. We plan to return ships to safe harbor with adequate shore side support and contact ticketed passengers to work with them to continue their journey, reschedule or offer refunds,” MacKinnon said.

“Our leadership team at the DOA has made every effort to address the IBU’s requests without further compounding our State’s ballooning deficit. It would be a dereliction of our duty, both to the IBU and to all Alaskans, for us to enter into a Bargaining Agreement that would benefit the IBU in the short-term but would further imperil the health, well-being, and future of all Alaskans in the long-term,” Commissioner Tshibaka said.

MRAK Almanac: Southeast Alaska State Fair

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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1
MRAK Almanac: Southeast Alaska State Fair

The MRAK Almanac is your place for political, cultural, and civic events, events where you’ll meet political leaders or, if you are interested in getting to know your state, these are great places to meet conservative- and moderate-leaning Alaskans.

Alaska Fact Book

Question: With all the recent discussion about the Alaska Permanent Fund, exactly how much money is currently in the Fund and how is it organized?

Answer: As of early this summer, there is a total fund value of about $64 billon. Of this, about $45 billion makes up the principal, or the part of the fund that the legislature absolutely cannot touch (without an amendment to the Alaska Constitution). Another $19 billon composes the Earnings Reserve Account (ERA) which is made up of the earnings from the Fund’s principal. The ERA is the only portion of the Permanent Fund used to pay dividends to Alaskans and partially fund state government.  

7/24: The Alaska House of Representatives will gavel in once again at 10:30 am in Juneau. They will likely be continuing discussion of HB2001. Read the full text of the bill here.

7/24: The State Vocational Rehabilitation Committee will hold a quarterly meeting starting at 9 am. Public testimony will be heard starting at noon. The meeting will be held via teleconference, visit this link for call-in details.

7/24: Alaska State Commission on Human Rights regular meeting via teleconference at 9:30 am. There will be no period for public testimony, but the public is invited to attend the meeting. Read more here.

7/24: Wasilla Farmer’s Market in Iditapark from 10 am to 6 pm. Come enjoy good food and world-famous Mat-Su Valley produce.

7/24: Concerts in the Plaza in downtown Fairbanks starting at 7 pm. Admission is free, and there will be jazz music and free ice cream on the banks of the Chena River. Does it get any better?

7/24: Birthday Block Party on JBER to celebrate the 54th birthday of Army Community Services. Starts at 11 am. Read more here.

7/24: Guided tours of UAF’s Geophysical Institute continue at 1 pm. A great opportunity to meet and greet many of the world’s leading arctic research scientists. Read more about the tours here.

7/24: Alaska Aviation Festival potential volunteer meeting at 7 pm. All interested in volunteering and learning more about the festival are welcome to attend, and those who sign up will receive a free shirt on the day of the event. More details at the Facebook link here.

7/24: Regular meeting of the Anchorage Senior Citizen Advisory Commission at 10 am. The public is welcome to attend. Read more here.

7/24-7/28: Annual Bearfest celebration in Wrangell. Come learn about Wrangell’s resident bear population and celebrate the arrival of their favorite food—salmon. The five-day festival features bear safety workshops, a smoked salmon competition, and lots of fun for the whole family. Read more here.

7/25: Regular meeting of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly at 6 pm. The assembly will be considering the formation of a joint climate change task force for the FNSB as well as considering an ordinance change to prohibit smoking and “vaping” in local parks. Read the agenda here.

7/25: The Soldotna City Council will gavel in for a regular meeting at 6 pm. There will be a period for public comment, and the council will be considering the purchase of two new police vehicles. Read the agenda here.

7/25: Alaska Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meet and greet at the Alaska PTA offices in Anchorage at 6 pm. Learn more about serving your community through your child’s school. Further details here.

7/25: Veterans Home Buying Seminar at Keller Williams Real Estate in Anchorage. All military families are invited to attend, and admission is free—there will even be a free Moose’s Tooth dinner provided to those who attend. Begins at 6 pm, read more here.

7/25: Fort Wainwright 168th Wing golf tournament in Fairbanks. All current members and veterans of the wing are invited to participate. Begins with a shotgun shot at 8:30 am. Read more at the Facebook link here.

7/25: Regular meeting of the Kodiak City Council at 7:30 pm. The council will be voting on the city’s sexual harassment ordinance as well as discussing a new application for a marijuana store. Find the agenda at this link.

7/25-7/28: The 51st annual Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines. Enjoy great headlining music acts, fun local food, and dozens of contests and showcases on display. Worth a trip down the Alcan, if your schedule allows. Read more here.

Alaska History Archive:

July 26, 2009—10 years ago: Sarah Palin officially stepped down as Alaska’s governor and was replaced by her lieutenant governor, Sean Parnell. The former Wasilla mayor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate said ongoing lawsuits against her made it difficult to do the state’s business as governor and she felt it necessary to step away and let Alaska’s government return to business as usual.

July 26, 1950—69 years ago: Austin E. Lathrop, the Alaska Territory’s “most powerful businessman” and a prominent opponent of statehood was tragically killed by a railroad car in his Suntrana coal plant near Healy. A man of many ventures, Lathrop also owned a chain of movie theaters across the state and served until his death on the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents. Lathrop High School in Fairbanks is named in his honor.

Libby Bakalar: A swig and a swing

Suzanne Downing
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52
Libby Bakalar: A swig and a swing

WHAT’S HER POINT?

The assistant attorney general who lost her job with the State Department of Law is a woman truly scorned. She wants her job back. But she wouldn’t work for the Dunleavy Administration for a “million years.”

Although it’s unclear what she wants in the way of work, she absolutely intends to remain the queen of vulgarity.

In her latest blog post at OneHotMessAK.com, she torched the Dunleavy Administration by saying, essentially, she will be their worst nightmare.

And she may. If she wins, her lawsuit against Gov. Michael Dunleavy and his chief of staff, she may be back representing the State of Alaska for the rest of her working life. No administration would ever seek to fire her again.

But no administration would ever trust her to do anything but sit in a corner and sort paper. That’s because she can’t help herself: She has to vent her vulgarity, and she’s making herself wholly unemployable, anywhere:

“They were told I was an invaluable employee and a top-performing attorney, and that it would be a big, BIG mistake to unconstitutionally fire me. They didn’t listen. It took me six months, but now, they will feel the wrath of my words and my influence and my activism indefinitely,” she wrote on her blog last week.

“They could have had me there, working quietly and diligently to defend their shitty policies to the best of my abilities within the bounds of the constitution. But because they violated the constitution immediately upon taking office and continue to, I will joyfully use my substantial and highly effective platform and all of the intellectual and educational privileges available to me to call out their egregious malfeasance every single fucking day of this disastrous administration,” Bakalar continued.

The attorney still doesn’t understand why people don’t trust her judgment. But she powered on:

“Now I know they got rid of me *because* I am not a yes-woman and was not about to perform legal gymnastics with our democratic institutions in service of their sadistic, unconstitutional bullshit. I could never work for them in a million years.”

Bakalar and the ACLU are suing to get her job back, but she can write vulgar commentary about her former bosses as often as she likes because, as a lawyer, she knows whatever she says or does now will not be admissible in court. She’s writing it months after she was released from duty.

“Their sadism is unreal and sociopathic. They WANT people to suffer. They WANT to see people hurt. They WANT to damage our constitutional democracy and drive out arts and intellect so that all that’s left of Alaska is a smash-and-grab resource colony. They WANT to punish the sick, the poor, and the elderly for being poor, sick, and old,” she wrote, before calling her former employers more names:

  • amateur hour shitgoblins.
  • trifling hos
  • cockamamie inept

She argued that she, unlike the Dunleavy Administration, knows how to use social media and she, also unlike the Dunleavy Administration, has “good, longstanding relationships with almost every reporter in the state.”

Yes, Bakalar does have good relationships with the mainstream media, and they have been kind to her point of view. She and the mainstream media are the cool kids.

Finally, Bakalar simply resorted to threats, because that’s what you do when you have no working filter:

” If you so much as lift a finger to retaliate against other state employees for “resisting” your cockamamie ineptitude I will put you on blast like the Fourth of July. I may have lived my adult life in Alaska but I was born and raised in NYC and you should not have squared up with this bitch,” she wrote, possibly addressing her remarks to the Dunleavy Administration … but also possibly addressing her remarks to the universe, because this is a type of rage that needs a much bigger stage.

[Read the ACLU complaint on behalf of Balakar at this link]

Restoring lavish university salaries with Alaskans’ PFDs?

Suzanne Downing
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105
Restoring lavish university salaries with Alaskans’ PFDs?

The House of Representatives appears to be on the verge of restoring $110 million to the University of Alaska system, adding back most of the cuts made by Gov. Michael Dunleavy as he sought to correct the fiscal imbalance that has brought Alaska’s Legislature to a standstill.

[Read: Up next, another $330 million in spending, $1,600 PFD]

At the same time, it appears the House may vote for a $1,600 Permanent Fund dividend, far less than the $3,000 that Alaska Statute calls for.

That news, plus a recently circulated white paper from the Office of Management and Budget, has raised the ire of conservatives, who see lavish salaries, duplicative programs, and far too many administrators for the university.

They say the cuts are long overdue and that the university system needs restructuring. Among the key points in the OMB white paper:

  • The Dunleavy Administration cut 41 percent of the state’s contribution to the University of Alaska, but the reduction is less than 17 percent of the system’s entire budget, which has access to other funds. The reductions, according to the OMB, bring the state contribution from more than double the average U.S. state contribution to about 35-40% higher than U.S. average.
  • The primary cost-driver issue for the University was developing two separately accredited full-service universities in the state — Anchorage and Fairbanks, the OMB report says. The university has lost 19 percent of its student body since 2012, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks recently closed a third dormitory due to lack of students.
  • Add to that the duplicate programs at Fairbanks and Anchorage, such as engineering, business management, arts and sciences, and education. OMB posits that UAF and UAA are competing for the same students, but UAF is increasingly unable to attract students because of its high cost. UAF only has 3,616 full time equivalent students (about the size of Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, where acceptance rate is 97 percent and graduation rate is 30 percent).

7.11.19 White Paper – University – Final

ADMINISTRATION HEAVY

The University system’s payroll shows that more than 50 percent of employees are administrative or campus support staff. Many staff positions are duplicative because the same programs are offered at two or more campuses.

The University of Alaska has 100 executive management staff, including dozens of chancellors, provosts, deans, and directors, whose average salary and benefit packages are higher than $175,000 per year. From the white paper linked above, Must Read Alaska clipped these salaries:

1...1,4901,4911,492...1,829Page 1,491 of 1,829

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