KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Library, People Mover cuts draw criticism at Assembly work session

Library, People Mover cuts draw criticism at Assembly work session

by Jason Lamb
Thursday, November 12, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Assembly members had their say on the mayor's spending plan when they presented formal amendments at Thursday’s Budget and Finance Committee meeting. Only five members attended the meeting, but they had several ideas on how to spend the city’s budget -- or how not to.

Assembly members Patrick Flynn and Debbie Ossiander say they don't agree with Mayor Dan Sullivan's plan to cut People Mover bus service -- so they’ve proposed separate budget amendments reinstating some elements of People Mover.

Flynn is proposing to eliminate the scheduled fare increase and put back in late evening and early morning bus service, and ossiander wants to see some attention to the Chugiak and Eagle River routes slated to be cut next year.

“It’s certainly, currently I think, a bare-bones service compared to the more populated parts of the municipality,” Ossiander said. “I think that it's a service that I tried to support in my amendments.”

The price tag for those options range from $330,000 to $1 million, paid for at least in part by taxing closer to the city’s legal limit than what Sullivan plans for -- and not all Assembly members think that's a good idea.

“Right now we don't have much in public dollars, and particularly when it comes to some of our bus routes that have a low ridership,” said Assembly member Jennifer Johnston. “We can't afford it.”

Assembly members also suggested adding money to keep Anchorage's branch libraries open longer than Sullivan has proposed, and giving them money to buy new materials.

Again, the city says the money used to pay for that would come from higher property taxes. Johnston says libraries need to be sure exactly what kind of materials to buy.

“I think you need to have a place to keep books, but iIm not sure if we're going to need the resources, if it’s going to be electronic or digital,” Johnston said.

Flynn says there's still room for compromises on how much of the mayor's budget to change -- and how much more, if any, it would cost Anchorage taxpayers.

“I think ideally, we'll have a discussion where we're all essentially on the same page and can come to a consensus on how we want the budget to look before we finish it,” Flynn said.

The Assembly will look at all the proposed changes to Sullivan’s spending budget at a work session Friday. The Assembly is set to approve the city's budget on Tuesday.

Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com