ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anchorage residents are anxiously awaiting new information related to the mayor's proposed sales tax. At Tuesday night's regular Assembly Meeting, the sales tax proposal was moved forward through the 'consent agenda'. The consent agenda is a way for the Assembly to move items forward and to set them for public hearing.
As for the tax itself, it has been set for a public hearing date of December 2.
The big topic of discussion for the night was the 2026 general government operating budget for the municipality; the overall budget is expected to be cut by $23,800 for fiscal year 2026. The debate over the course of the meeting was: Should we cut more, and what should we cut?
Topics of the night were education and transportation.
"I am told that we're facing a fiscal cliff. I am told that we have a revenue problem. I am told that we are in a state of needing to tighten our belts, and yet, I see that we're adding and expanding a program," Anchorage Assembly Member Jared Goecker said.
The program looking at expansion? Adding an additional weekday for people aged 65 or older to ride People Mover fare free.
"I think this is an essential service for folks, particularly for our seniors who need to be able to get around, including in the winter," Anchorage Assembly Member Daniel Volland said.
"One of the reasons I'm supportive of this particular allocation is because I would like to understand how it changes AnchorRIDES utilization, which is more expensive than bus transportation," Anchorage Assembly Member Eric Baldwin Day said. "I believe this is well worth the investment to understand how AnchorRIDES ridership changes if seniors have the opportunity to ride the bus for free. Potentially making AnchorRIDES a program that costs the municipality less, and on the whole, I think that's a win."
In addition to transportation, education came up as a topic, looking at who should get funding and when.
"In the past, we have funded grants to Best Beginnings via the alcohol tax. However, now we have the marijuana tax revenues, and the focus is early education and childcare," Volland said.
Anchorage Assembly Member George Martinez viewed the topic of adding Best Beginnings to the annual operating budget as an "11th-hour" decision.
"It's challenging for me to identify one group when I want the sector to be strong," Martinez said.
Volland argued that this wasn't an addition in the "11th-hour", saying that the organization has been communicating with the Assembly for some time before the budget discussions.
"Children who participated in the Imagination Library had higher rates of kindergarten readiness than similar children who did not participate," Volland said.
The Assembly unanimously adopted the General Government Operating Budget.