​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Focus on Budget & Taxes​​

Be part of the conversation - you have a voice on the municipal budget! The Municipality's budget is a reflection of the values, vision and priorities of our community, and affects everyone, so it's important that the community is involved in shaping the budget. Learn how the current budget impacts you, participate in future budget planning processes and understand how taxes are used to make government work for you.​ Explore this website to learn more about the budget and when you are ready, there are several opportunities to provide input: 

  • ​During the summer, before the budget is submitted to the Assembly in early October, you can provide input to the Mayor at mayor@anchorageak.gov. 
  • Once the budget is before the Assembly in early October, you can testify for up to 3-minutes during the budget public hearings at Assembly meetings (visit ancgov.info/participate to learn more about how to participate in Assembly meetings) or email your comments to the Assembly. Most Assembly Members read their emails carefully, so if you can't make it to testify, sending an email is very effective.
  • The public is welcome to attend Assembly worksessions (note: the public does not have an opportunity to speak at worksessions, but they're a great place to learn more about what is going on.)
  • All Assembly meetings are livestreamed and recorded, so you can watch budget sessions to learn more about budget proposals and amendments​.
From the number of books on the shelves at libraries, playgrounds in our parks, to the quality of the roads we drive on and the response times of emergency services, there are few things we interface with in our daily lives that aren’t impacted by the municipal budget.​ When community members provide input on the budget, it helps the Mayor and Assembly shape the budget to meet the current needs of our community! ​​


​Tips for Testifying on the Budget​​
There will be two budget public hearings at Regular Assembly Meetings - one on October 21 and another on November 4. If you'd like to testify, here's what to expect:
  • Public hearing items happen between 6-11pm. The Assembly may set a target time for budget testimony and will pause the rest of the agenda at that time to take up budget testimony.
  • ​Find the budget items on the agenda: there will be multiple agenda items for the General Government Operating Budget, the Capital Improvement Budget, etc. If you have general budget comments, you will want to testify on the General Government Operating Budget, which will be the first of the budget items. The budget items will be in Section 14 - New Public Hearings on the agenda.
  • When the Assembly gets to that item on the agenda, the Chair will invite people who wish to testify to form a line behind the podium.
  • Each person will have three minutes to testify and you will be asked to start by stating your name and the area of town you live in.
  • Want to testify by phone or writing? Sign up by 5pm the night before the meeting and the Clerk will call you when it's your turn to testify or use this form to submit written testimony. 
  • Pro-tip: you can watch the Assembly meeting online to see when they are getting close to your item.


Join the Conversation


Get the Facts: Budget​

The Municipality of Anchorage operating budget provides for local services like fire, police, parks, libraries, roads, building permits and health, as well as utilities and enterprises like the Port of Alaska, Merrill Field Airport, AWWU and Solid Waste Services. 

2026-1028 MOA Budget 101 Presentation_FINAL10-28.png  

The Municipality's capital improvement budget and capital improvement plan consist of capital projects for the upcoming fiscal year and for the next six fiscal years and identify funding sources such as future bond propositions and state and federal funding requests. 

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Get the Facts: Taxes

​​Each year, the Municipality of Anchorage collects property taxes from homeowners and commercial entities, and in return, those taxes fund local services like fire and police, schools, parks, libraries, roads, and health services. 

Property taxes​ account for about half of the revenue needed to fund the Municipality’s operations, and about 40% funds the Anchorage School District. Other sources of funding include non-property taxes such as room, auto, tobacco, marijuana and alcohol ​taxes as well as investment revenue, fees and permits, and federal and state contributions. 




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FY2026 Budget Process and Timeline

Every fall, OMB submits the mayor's budget to the Assembly, around the first of October (the legal requirement is 90-days before the end of the year). After that, the Assembly holds two worksessions in October to hear from municipal departments and the utilities and enterprises on their budgets and one worksession in November to discuss possible budget amendments. Public hearings on the budget are held in October and November and the budget is typically approved at the last Assembly meeting in November. From there, the budget is implemented by the Administration beginning January 1.

  • Aug 29: OMB submits the 120-Day Memo to the Assembly (this is the budget, expenses and revenue projections for 2026) - View the 120-Day Memo

  • Sept 12: Worksession: review of 120-Day Memo (budget, expenses and revenue projections for 2026​) - View the 120-day Memo session recording​

  • Oct 1: OMB submits budget to Assembly - View budget documents

  • Oct 7​: Budget introduced at Assembly meeting

  • Oct 10: Worksession: general government budget - Watch Part 1 and Part 2​ of the worksession; meeting documents on the Worksessions page​ under October 10

  • Oct 21: Public hearing #1 - View the meeting agenda

  • Oct 24: Worksession: utilities & enterprise budgets - View the meeting​ in person or online​

  • Nov 4: Public hearing #2

  • Nov 7: Worksession: proposed amendments

  • Nov 18: Approval of budget & amendments at Assembly meeting

The process is repeated on a smaller scale each April in what is called the 1st Quarter Budget Revision. This gives the municipality a chance to see where the previous year’s revenue and expenses actually fell and make adjustments as needed, since the budget is based on projections from the previous fall. 

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All Abo​ut Bond Propositions

Bonds are a way for a community to take on debt to invest in what voters value most. The Regular Municipal Election is an annual opportunity for proposed bonds, or bond propositions,​ to appear on the ballot in front of qualified registered voters.

Historically, bonds have paid for improvements to Anchorage schools, roads, parks, trails and public safety services. Departments and community organizations submit bond propositions to the Anchorage Assembly. After the Assembly hears public testimony on the bond propositions, the body considers whether or not the proposition will be added to the upcoming Municipal Election ballot.​

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Taxes on Alcohol & Marijuana

Approved by Anchorage voters, taxes on alcohol and marijuana sales are dedicated to specific public investments.​ These taxes are working upstream to improve our community's quality of life through investments in family services and public safety. 

Alcohol Tax | Cheers to You Anchorage
Marijuana Tax | Care for Kids

​​Alcohol Tax: Cheers to You Anchorage​

​Before Anchorage voters passed the alcohol tax in 2020, municipal and state services for violence prevention, homelessness, mental health, and public safety were at a breaking point. Community members demanded effective local solutions, with a steady funding stream for programs to prevent and address the problems associated with substance misuse and the municipality’s lack of m​ental and behavioral health services. With the approval of Proposition 13 in April 2020, authorizing a 5% sales tax on the retail sales of alcoholic beverages, our city has made a commitment to try a new approach for how our community responds to the emergencies today, and how it commits to long-term well-being of future generations in Anchorage. ​To learn more about programs funded by the alcohol tax, visit cheersanchorage.org.



Marijuana Tax: Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund (ACCEE Fund)​​​

In April of 2023, Proposition 14 – the Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund (ACCEE Fund) – passed with strong support from Anchorage voters. Propositio​n 14 dedicates the Municipality of Anchorage's marijuana tax revenue to child care and early childhood education. The funds started accumulating in January of 2024, with five million dollars estimated to be available annually. The ACCEE Fund can be spent creating access to child care and early education programs; supporting reading programs; supporting child care or early education provider training, professional development, staffing, and/or livable wages; or funding facilities. ​


To ensure these funds are used effectively, a private and public partnership between the Municipality of Anchorage and the Alaska Children's Trust was formed and established an Implementation Team comprised of two Assembly Members, staff from the Anchorage Health Department, a School Board Member, representatives from Head Start, thread Alaska, JBER, community leaders, child care and early education providers, the business community and parents. To learn more about the Implementation Team's timeline and deliverables, read AR 2023-404, As Amended, passed by the Anchorage Assembly on November 21, 2023.​

To learn more about the Implementation Team's work, visit www.careforkidsanchorage.com. 

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Understanding the Big Picture

The municipal budget belongs to all of us — not just elected officials. Assembly Members Anna Brawley and Erin Baldwin Day invite the community to learn more about the budget, understand how it became what it is today, and weigh in on how we pay for the services we need moving forward. The members hosted a public workshop on October 28, 2025 to present the big picture and welcome feedback. 

Interested in attending a future event? Subscribe to emails from the Anchorage Assembly and opt-in to budget priority updates.



Participate


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Budget & Finance Committee
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​Guide to Testimony
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Office of Management & Budget​

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​​907-343-4311 PO Box 196650, Anchorage, AK 99519-6650​​​

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