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George is constrained by law to provide only the facts about the school bonds – he can’t advocate for them. But I can. And I strongly urge you to vote yes. Today, I’d like to provide a glimpse of where we’re headed in the coming year through the city budget, with a special focus on transportation. Like public TV and radio, we’ve had our own pledge drive. This one for traffic congestion relief. I’d like to report on the results. A couple of weeks ago, we formally submitted to the Assembly our proposed budget for Fiscal 2005. I was relieved to describe this budget as essentially holding the line, with some new significant investments in public safety. Our proposal adds 20 new police officers and 25 new firefighters, as we build up the most important services any city can provide its citizens – ensuring their safety. The 2005 budget proposal is a dramatic contrast to last year’s. Then, we faced Anchorage’s most severe budget challenge since the oil price crash of the late 1980s, with a $33 million budget gap. You’ll recall we described it as a “perfect storm.” Huge state budget cuts, the constraints of our property tax cap, and increased demand for services for a growing economy. Thanks to the sacrifice of city workers, the cooperation of the Assembly and some tough budget decisions, we balanced the 2004 budget. Our ‘05 budget is also balanced. And it puts us on course for long-term stability and growth. This budget reflects the priorities Anchorage residents tell me they feel most strongly about: public safety, transportation, and economic development. It funds essential public services, from public health to snow clearing. It provides for modest but targeted investments in necessary public facilities, especially roads. And if the Assembly and public agree to our four-part tax reform package, it provides tax relief to Anchorage property taxpayers. After years of increasing the burden on property taxpayers, this budget reverses that trend. Today, 61 percent of the city’s budget comes from property taxpayers. That’s a 13 percent increase since 1989, when just 48 percent of city services were financed by property taxes. Under our budget proposal, the reliance on property taxpayers to fund public services drops, as we diversify the city’s tax base. Let me hit the highlights of our budget proposal. This $329.9 million budget is an increase over the current year – about $20 million. You probably can’t read this slide very well, but we have produced a new easy-to-read Budget in Brief that contains the Reader’s Digest version of the city budget. It should be on your tables. The major factors driving the budget are personnel costs. Increased health care and retirement costs are two of the biggest. As I mentioned, we propose new police officers and firefighters, which will cost $2.8 million. You’ll remember that when we came into office, we directed a major review of our police department. It found Anchorage 93 officers short of where our city should be to protect the public. We’ve embarked on an ambitious effort to rebuild the Anchorage Police Department. We expect to add new officers each year, including the 20 new ones next year. We’re aggressively recruiting for new officers, especially those from minority groups to better diversify the force. For fire, we recently announced a major reorganization of the department. With that, and the department’s improved management of overtime and leave, we’re able to add 25 new firefighters to better protect the public. This budget also includes modest raises for most municipal employees. For the current year, we asked employees to forego increases as we worked through the huge budget gap. Thanks to their sacrifice, we saved about $3 million in 2004. I commend all city employees and the unions that represent them for sharing the burden. Our ’05 budget also includes a number of significant areas of cost-savings. Thanks to the Cooperative Services Authority the Assembly recently approved, we project about $3 million in savings next year alone from the way we purchase equipment and supplies. We expect to save another $2.5 million through health care plan modifications. Through self-insurance and reforms, like purchasing prescription drugs in bulk and from Canada, we can save big. We’re also investing in new technology to generate efficiencies now and savings later. For example, we’ll soon launch a web-based computer program to streamline planning and permitting. And by January, businesses will be able to file their city tax returns electronically. When it comes to the capital budget, you’ll see a continued emphasis on our highest priority – relieving traffic congestion. As every member of this community knows, Anchorage roads are jammed and getting worse. Every day, one million vehicle trips are made through this city. This congestion is bad for public safety. It’s bad for the parent trying to get their kid across town. It’s bad for our economy. Of course, one of the most congested parts of Anchorage is the Lake Otis/Bragaw area. Anchorage residents and visitors waste the equivalent of 17 work weeks every day just trying to pass through the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection. Relieving this congestion will take more than simply widening the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection, although that will help significantly. That’s why we’re pushing what we’re calling the “Lake Otis and Tudor Area Congestion Relief Package.” It includes improvements to the dreaded intersection, extension of Bragaw Road and the Tudor and Bragaw intersection, and extension of Dowling Road. The price tag is about $35 to $40 million. We’ve tried any number of ways to get these projects adequately funded, from requests to our congressional delegation to pleas the Legislature and state administration. During this year’s legislative session, we promoted a $93 million statewide transportation bond package. It included several essential projects to relieve Anchorage traffic congestion. To its credit, the state House approved it. But like many legislative issues this year, the package died in the Senate. The Municipality and the residents of our city are doing their part. We’re taking over responsibility for an additional leg of the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection and acquiring the necessary property for a solution that will significantly ease congestion. We’re prepared to invest $3 million to acquire those properties. We must find a solution in the coming legislative session. That’s why I recently asked nearly 50 incumbent legislators and legislative candidates from our region a simple question: Do you support the Lake Otis and Tudor Area Congestion Relief Package? We made it easy for them - we provided a self-addressed, stamped post card. Now, some legislators took offense. After years of completing questionnaires from every special interest group under the sun, some objected to one from city taxpayers. One incumbent, who has been meeting with his colleagues in Juneau behind closed doors for 10 years, said it smacks of old-fashioned politics. I don’t think telling your constituents where you stand is old-fashioned. As of this morning, we had received 31 pledges from Republicans, Democrats and independent candidates, including incumbents. I commend these candidates and look forward to working with them in January to relieve Anchorage’s traffic congestion. These are the 15 incumbent legislators and candidates who declined to sign the congestion relief pledge. I’ve got to be honest and note that when it comes to road improvements, we haven’t received much assistance from the federal government either. Congressional gridlock prevented a renewal of the six-year federal highway funding bill. The last reauthorization expired October 1, 2003. That means we’re a year overdue. It also means Anchorage hasn’t seen a significant congressional earmark for congestion relief in this community in about four years. It is critical we break the gridlock in both Washington and in Juneau. To continue doing Anchorage’s part, we are asking the Assembly to approve a city road bond of about $32 million for the coming year. That compares to the $46.5 million approved by voters last April. This bond may change between now and April depending on state or federal actions - or lack thereof - on transportation funding. I want to emphasize that as we seek state and federal funding for Anchorage roads, Anchorage taxpayers are doing their part. We’re opening a brand new road - Pine Street in the Russian Jack area. And we’re completing major improvements to other roads: Southport, Laurel, Elmore Road, Turpin, Denali. The list goes on. As you know, we’re asking voters to approve funding for a new civic and convention center next April through an increase in the hotel/motel tax. So we don’t want to overwhelm or distract them with other large bond proposals. As is always the case, the city budget at this point is a work in progress. Many work sessions and public hearings are scheduled between now and Assembly approval on November 16th. I encourage you to stay tuned and give us your comments. One last pitch I want to make. Anchorage’s largest convention is coming to town next week – the Alaska Federation of Natives. We’re working closely with AFN to make this their largest and most successful ever. We are asking Anchorage businesses to step forward to say thanks for all the business AFN and rural Alaska bring to our community. I’m making a special request to the Anchorage business community to show your support with these welcome posters. Please display them prominently to show your support for rural Alaska. I’m optimistic about Anchorage. We’ve got a balanced city budget that provides core services, a growing economy and a strong faith in a bright future. Thank you.
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