Patrick Flynn’s Blog

I don’t know who said it first but I’m fond of the phrase, “Politics is Alaska’s second favorite indoor sport.”  I’ll let readers decide for themselves what the first one is, but my point is that even when there’s not much to talk about people still talk about it (long-winded political office-holder bloggers included).  So here goes…

An acquaintance who resides well north of my hometown once observed that the difference between Fairbanks and Anchorage is that everybody from Fairbanks has been to Anchorage.  Point well taken - many Southcentral Alaskans never have, or take, the opportunity to experience other parts of our great state.  I consider myself fortunate that various aspects of my work have afforded me the opportunity to spend a fair amount of time in Southeast and Interior Alaska, and a little time in Southwest and Northwest Alaska.  Never been to Barrow, but I digress.

Snowzilla is terrorizing Airport Heights, Alaska travelers are stranded all along the western seaboard and the world economy is dropping faster than the mercury in Fairbanks.  And yet, despite all that, the holidays are upon us and we can take some time to be thankful for the blessings of family & friends.  I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a joyous holiday season and look forward to our new year together.

Tuesday evening’s Assembly meeting is shaping up to be a barnburner.  Long, potentially contentious and chock full of intrigue.  Unless you choose to ignore local government or have been living in a cave you’re surely aware of at least some of the issues before us.  But, in the interest of disclosure, here are some highlights:

In the past few weeks I’ve received many e-mails and a few calls regarding fiscal matters.  Some have focused on the 2009 MOA budget, others on labor contracts in general and a few on specific labor contracts.  Some favor added spending, some want to see cuts but very few have risen to my challenge to describe how they would proceed from a macro perspective.  So I’ll get more specific.

After a lot of discussion, questions and debate, the Assembly ratified two previously expired contracts last night. The first, which covers the Anchorage Municipal Employees Association (think clerks, librarians and planners), expired in 2007 and will run through 2012, with wage re-openers in 2011 and 2012. In other words, it’s essentially a two year deal with two one-year options.

Having just completed my first run through the Anchorage budget as an Assembly member I found the process both fulfilling and wanting. On the former point, the Assembly worked closely with municipal staff in a deliberate and orderly manner that allowed each member visibility into the process, whether they served on the Budget & Finance committee or not. The result was an informed discussion and effective efforts to reduce spending in numerous areas. On the latter point, I was disappointed that several Assembly members waited until the final debate to suggest that the budget should undergo major structural changes in order to weather what they foresee as dark economic times.

During Tuesday’s debate on a series of budget amendments offered by my new favorite Assembly member, Bill Starr, discussions about the Police Department proved most interesting to me. One of the amendments would have cut $1,025,000 from APD’s budget with Mr. Starr reasoning that our addition of officers should result in reduced overtime but, instead, overtime costs have instead been rising. The flaw in that logic is that the Assembly passes a budget while departments retain the flexibility for intradepartmental allocation, meaning a decrement to “overtime” is essentially an unallocated cut.

The Assembly swung back into action this evening with quite a bit going on. I’ve seen more media representatives and lobbyists present than any time since my first Assembly meeting back in April. Regarding the former, they’re mostly here to interview Mark Begich, who was declared the victor in his Senate race earlier today. Regarding the latter, I suppose they’re here for the same reason we’re seeing a large - though not unprecedented - crowd, which is the third and final public hearing on the municipality’s 2009 budget.

The Assembly is taking a two-week break to acknowledge election day, November 4, and Veterans Day, November 11, which both fall on Tuesdays. Accordingly I, too, plan a break from blogging until the week of November 17 - look for a post some time after our meeting on the 18th. Thanks to all for reading and, no matter your political persuasion, please take the time to exercise your civic duty by voting. I’m not sure who said it first, but I’m fond of the old saw reminding us that those who don’t vote don’t get to complain!