Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson has vetoed most of the budget changes made by the Assembly last week.
Some of the vetoes include cuts to building inspector staffing, operating the city’s mobile crisis team 24/7 and funding for school resource officers. Bronson also changed the funding source for some health department positions from property taxes to the alcohol tax.
In a statement, Bronson said the vetoes bring Anchorage’s budget to $4.7 million under the tax cap, as opposed to the Assembly’s, which was $1.2 million under the cap.
Bronson didn’t veto all of the changes made by the Assembly in their first quarter budget revisions. The funding he kept included money to hire four firefighters, plus grant funds for sexual assault prevention programs and funds for the impending special election to fill the new 12th seat on the Assembly.
Bronson’s vetoes continue a fraught battle between the Assembly and mayor over city spending. For most of the year, Bronson’s administration wasn’t following the budget the Assembly passed in December, only opting to shift to the Assembly budget last month.
The Assembly unanimously passed its budget revisions last Tuesday. Overriding the mayor’s vetoes would require eight votes from the 11-member Assembly. The Assembly has overridden many vetoes from the mayor since he took office last year, including when he vetoed their budget in late November.
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Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
