Many local city and borough officials are participating in the annual Alaska Municipal League conference in Anchorage this week.
Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt talked about a hot topic likely to top discussions at this year’s event.
Watt: “Things like telling the state they should continue to provide school construction debt funding. That was the $3.1 million veto that we lost in July and that hurt us a lot and really don’t want that to happen again. Whether it comes out of the governor’s budget or legislative action or a veto after the session. I think our big message is we need the state to pass that fiscal plan so that we have predictability and stability to make good decisions moving forward.”
The AML is an organization made up of 164 Alaskan cities, borough, and unified municipalities which represent about 97 percent of Alaska’s residents.
Each year the members meet in an effort to present a unified voice of Alaska’s local governments to weigh in on state and federal decisions, along with build partnerships, and provide training to strengthen Alaska’s local governments.