Assembly Report for December 16, 2008

DICK CHENEY LOOKING FOR WORK HERE? Eagle River Assemblyman Bill Starr has a new resolution before the Anchorage Assembly suggesting that the city manager to hire a bear hunter to protect Eagle River residents from bear attacks. Called a "wildlife safety specialist" the new hire would "manage nuisance and dangerous bears". As no real qualifications are set for the job, even vice president Dick Cheney could apply. The resolution does not say how much Cheney or a more qualified person would be paid.

Starr's Resolution also asks the State Board of Game to open up portions of the Hillside and Eagle River to seasonal bear hunting. Local gunshops who have already seen sales of firearms and ammunition skyrocket since the presidential election (Anchorage Daily News, November 10, 2008) can only rejoice Anchorage is opened up for bear hunting. A public hearing will be held on the resolution.

Although the Assembly on Tuesday night did not reach Starr;s resolution and it is still scheduled for a continuation meeting tomorrow night, Starr said late Tuesday he will move to postpone the matter until a meeting sometime in January, 2009.

The resolution is AR 2008-253 and can be found muni.org on the Assembly/Clerk portion of the City's web site. Written by Kyle Hopkins, an excellent article about the resolution appeared on page 1 of the December 16th edition of the Daily News.

SELKREGG RESIGNS AS VICE CHAIR; ASSEMBLY MAY FILL POSITION AT CONTINUATION MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT: Keeping a promise she says was made months ago to other assembly members who elected her Vice Chair last spring, Assembly member Sheila Selkregg last night resigned her position as Vice Chair in order to devote concentrate on her campaign for Mayor. Selkreggs’s action set off a brief firefight among assembly members over the timing of a decision by the body to fill that position. Ultimately, the body voted to take up her replacement at a continuation meeting to complete the December 16th agenda at 5:00 p.m.

POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS PACK THE HOUSE; ASSEMBLY APPROVES 5 YEAR POLICE CONTRACT : Hundreds of police officers and firefighters packed the Assembly Chambers on Tuesday night to urge the body to approve contracts with their unions for five years or until 2013. After waiting patiently for hours in a line which snaked to the rear entrance of the Assembly chambers, several dozen people were able to testify before the Assembly by vote of 6-4 approved the new contract. Assembly member Dan Coffey was absent due to an illness in his family.

Eagle River Assembly member Bill Starr, who led the opposition to the police contract with a barrage of legal objections, argument, and at times, thinly veiled hostility to the administration of Mayor Mark Begich, tried to abstain from voting on the entire contract. Assembly Chair Matt Claman simply overruled Starr and recorded his action as a “No” vote.

Public Hearing and action on the Firefighters’ contract was continued to a meeting beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17th in the Assembly chambers at the Loussac Library.

Negotiated with the municipal administration, the two contracts appear to follow inflation and provide a 3 percent wage increase in 2009 and annual inflation-related hikes ranging from a minimum of 2.9 percent to a 4.5 percent maximum from 2010 through 2013.

The unions and City negotiators overcame several hurdles in bringing these agreements forward: service retirements, dwindling retirement accounts for uniformed members and the need to maintain competitive wage sales to lure recruits to the City naturally fueled wage demands. A worsening national economy, the local tax cap, and perpetual concern over real property taxes presented their own challenges to negotiators.

According to the City, the new fire contract will increase the Fire Department budget from $22.7 million to $29.7 million during the five year term. The police contract would add $29.2 million to $38.2 million to the Department’s budget during the same five years. While much ballyhoo is made in the tabloids about the size of these contracts, the increased costs they represent is a relatively tiny percentage of the more that $2.6 Billion that will be spent for all general government operations during those same five years.

ASSEMBLY DEFERS ACTION ON PROPOSED FREEZE ON NEW MUNICIPAL HIRES, “NON CRITCICAL” CONTRACTS: The Assembly wisely deferred until January 20, 2009 action on a proposed wage freeze and embargo “non critical contracts” proposed on Tuesday night. Resolution AR 2008-333 would freeze all new hiring by the City until April, 2009 unless related to “community health and safety.” Similarly, all ”non critical contracts” of any amount would be embargoed for five months. Critical terms are not defined in the resolution, a process for determining if proposed exceptions apply and criteria for determining if “adequate funding” exists to support expenditures are not spelled out in the resolution. When members learned its sponsor had not first examined practical impacts with the municipal administration and had not reviewed the resolution with the Assembly’s own Budget and Finance committee, action on the matter was quickly postponed until January 20, 2009. The resolution is authored by sponsored by Assembly members Selkregg, Ossiander, and Drummond. A delay in action on the resolution and a referral to the Assembly’s own Budget and Audit Committee might give sponsor Sheila Selkregg a chance to better understand just how hiring and contract freezes imposed by a legislative body impact the day to day functions of city government. Selkregg is a candidate for Mayor in the April, 2009 municipal election.

Action on a related resolution also sponsored by Ms Selkregg was postponed until January, 2009. AR 2008 to give the Assembly’s budget Committee and the mayor a chance to review the matter. AR 2008-334 would require certain monthly financial reports be given to the Assembly. The month delay gives Ms. Selkregg time to review city financial reports already available through the Administration and the Assembly’s own budget committee.

NO ACTION ON ORDINANCE, RUMORED LEADERSHIP CHANGE; An agenda clogged with other matters and a room packed with persons testifying on union contracts prevented the Assembly from taking action on AO 2008-131. The ordinance would allow six members of the body to replace its Chair at any time. Under current law as understood by the municipal attorney, eight votes are required to make the change at mid term and some advance notice to the incumbent chair may be required.

The Assembly chair automatically becomes Acting Mayor if a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor. That change will occur when current mayor Mark Begich leaves for Washington, D.C. t as Alaska’s newest U. S. Senator.

City Hall insiders report a bitter feud has erupted between East Anchorage Assembly member and mayoral candidate Sheila Sellkreg and Assembly Chair Matt Claman who is an undecided candidate in the same election. Selkregg says she and Claman both promised members who supported their election to leadership positions last April to resign as Chair or Vice Chair should they decide to seek the city’s highest office. The purpose of this agreement was to “level the playing field” between mayoral candidates, none of whom would have the advantage of running for that office while serving as Acting Mayor. Claman says he is not bound by the agreement because it was conditioned on him making a decision to run for Mayor by October of 2009. Because he has not yet decided to seek that office, Claman says he is no longer bound by that Agreement and intends to serve as Acting Mayor. He reserves the right to decide whether to announce his candidacy until late February, 2009.

Because the Assembly did not reach AO 2008-131 before its clock ran out on Tuesday night, conservative members who are rumored to favor removal of Matt Claman from his position as Chair took no action. The proposed ordinance will be among the last items taken up by the body tomorrow night at the Loussac Library at 5:00 pm to complete its December 16th agenda.