Anchorage Mayor LaFrance says city faces challenges but bolstered by dedicated employees

The Municipality of Anchorage faces some big challenges but also has many opportunities and dedicated city workers.

That’s the message from Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, now in her third week leading Alaska’s largest city, reacting in part to a transition report from the administration of her predecessor, Dave Bronson.

The report details staffing shortfalls across many departments and the city’s inability to pay competitive wages.

LaFrance says her team is focused on finding solutions, even as those shortfalls have threatened core city services that residents expect.

Listen:

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This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance: I think a lot of people saw that firsthand with snow plowing this last winter, the last two winters, and the fact that we need more operators. And so that’s something that we’re looking closely at and is top of mind. No lifeguards this summer, at some of the lake parks. (The Anchorage Police Department), when it comes to the non-emergency response, those times are increasing, as far as wait times. And then just, you know, generally the support services, and even for, like, businesses or, you know, folks through the 49th State Angel Fund, and how some of those administrative processes are tying up the ability to access funding. So we’re seeing it in a number of ways, and there are some big, you know, takeaways and how we can address that. But it does, you know, keeps coming back to me that we’re asking our municipal team to do so much with such limited resources.

Casey Grove: I guess, speaking of staffing, it seems like a big component of that for individual employees would be just the wages that they’re getting paid. And I think we’ve heard that the city isn’t maybe offering, you know, wages that are competitive with the private sector. And I know that involves a lot of different types of jobs, but is that something that you’re going to be looking at as mayor, you know, possibly increasing wages or negotiating for higher wages?

SF: Yes, absolutely. We know that the municipality is largely not competitive when it comes to the private sector, when it comes to other agencies, other government sectors as well. And so wages and salaries, benefits, we’ll be looking closely at those areas. I think, though, that what draws a lot of folks to municipal service is they want meaningful work and want to serve the community. And so that does give us — I don’t want to say an edge — but something that is unique from other kinds of jobs.

(You) can’t feed your family, necessarily, on those kinds of things. So folks need living wages, competitive wages, and we’re looking at ways in which we can be competitive if we can’t outright compete, like with the private sector, through wages alone. And you know, a lot of private sector jobs also have bonuses, as well. But we can look at areas like teleworking, flex time, part time. We want to be really creative and talk to employees as well and find out, you know, what are the ways where we can make these jobs more competitive and keep the employees we have, too. I mean, retention is the first thing we need to look at.

CG: I wanted to ask you, too, about the state of homelessness in Anchorage, and in particular, with the abatement of camps. Did the Supreme Court ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in the Grants Pass case, did that change anything for you about how you want to approach that? Is the city clearing homeless camps? And I guess, how’s that going?

SF: So the first thing on the court case, it may be that there are some specific instances where, you know, that will apply. But for the most part, it doesn’t change how I look at it. In terms of, you know, first and foremost, it’s a public safety issue. And we want to make sure that people have a place to go and ultimately are able to access services, access housing. Being a winter city, we need to make sure that emergency shelter that’s intended to be short time is available. And I know a lot of people say like, “Well, you know, most people don’t want that.” And I continue to believe that there is a minority of people who ultimately don’t want to be housed.

I think sometimes when we look at shelter, not everybody wants to be in a big congregant shelter, and actually can feel very unsafe and be triggering for some folks. And so recognizing that emergency shelter, as it has taken different forms, needs to take different forms. But I see the goals as the same as before the court case is, you know, we need to, first and foremost, make sure people have a place to go in a short term situation and then to continue to work towards enabling people to access services and housing and look at root causes of homelessness.

CG: I guess the second part of that, though, as far as, you know, whether the city is clearing camps, and how’s that going? You know, certainly there are parts of town that there have been some large camps that have grown up, there are residents of Anchorage that aren’t happy about that. I guess I just wanted to ask about that again.

SF: The city is continuing to abate camps. And those are handled by a team that, you know, a cross-functional team of representatives from different departments in the municipality and sometimes partners, too, and, you know, taking a look based on public safety considerations based on size, what is the next priority for abatement?

CG: And I think it’s fair to say to that it’s not like a complete overlap of the Venn diagram of people that are homeless and that are causing at least a perception of, you know, a public safety issue. So I just want to say that. But when folks say things like, you know, “Anchorage is a city in decline,” or, “It’s not safe to be downtown or other parts of the city,” what do you say to people like that?

SF: We have some work to do. I mean, that much is clear. And I’ve heard that from people. People have told me that, as well, they don’t feel safe going downtown. And activating spaces of downtown is important. But also aligning resources is critical. And I know that some folks who are experiencing mental health issues and substance misuse issues, as well, and present in a state of crisis, sometimes right there to downtown business owners and their employees, that a different kind of intervention is needed. And that whether it’s, you know, outreach through the Community Action Team or Mobile Intervention Team, those are the kinds of resources I believe we need to bring to areas of downtown in a much more, intentional way.

CG: And one thing that came up with Bill Falsey, your chief administrative officer, is how much things have changed in terms of state funding going to the municipality. And I wonder, I mean, do you see that changing? Or do you see yourself, I guess, you know, trying to find more funding from the state? Or is that just never going to happen again?

SF: Unfortunately, “changing,” my first thought was like, “Oh, that would mean negative.” But I don’t see it going up, at least in the short-term community assistance. And, you know, it really, I believe, underscores the need for us to be as self-sufficient as we can. And, you know, ensuring that we’re figuring out ways to enact our strategic plan and our goals for our community. And I know, people are excited about — a lot of people, I mean, maybe not everybody — but about the idea of a sales tax. And I think that’s a really important community conversation to have, because we do need to look at how we’re investing in ourselves and what we want here and what kind of infrastructure and, you know, what’s important to us as residents of the municipality.

CG: Yeah, I’m glad you brought that up. I mean, beyond just sort of having that conversation, I mean, do you support the idea of a sales tax?

SF: I think that it really depends on how it’s structured, and that’s going to be the key. I mean, we’ve seen that residents have voted down numerous proposals, and some haven’t earned enough Assembly support to get on the ballot. And it really does come down to that balance of will there be property tax relief? Will there be money outside of the (tax) cap so that we can offer more competitive wages and recruit people, you know, especially to these key positions in the municipality. Will there be a portion for capital projects?

And again, that’s a way of providing property tax relief, too, because right now, our funding mechanism is, you know, through bonds. And what kind of impact will it have on folks who have fixed incomes and limited means? I mean, we know it’s expensive to live here, and the last thing we want to do is create hardships on people who are trying to break into the housing market, are struggling to make ends meet with food and childcare. And so being very thoughtful about those impacts will, I believe, be key.

CG: I wanted to just ask you about the property tax cap, too. Maybe this is a simplistic way of asking this, but do you feel constrained by that in terms of, you know, trying to to pay people more, to attract workers to the city? And do you see that changing ever? I mean, do you see that cap being lifted?

SF: I mean, it is constraining, in the sense it hasn’t kept up with costs. And so then, you know, what we saw, like, in prior years is, in order to make sure public safety and maintenance and operations are funded, and to the extent they need to be, other departments get cut. And those cuts have impacts, as we know. And so that’s something that it limits the possibilities there. But I think that will be, we’re going to be looking at creative ways. And we’re going to be getting the books in shape and looking at what kinds of options are available and, hopefully, being able to grow the pie, so to speak. I mean, there are a number of grant opportunities we’re not taking advantage of, and sometimes those grants can provide operational relief, too.

CG: I feel like I have to ask, because you’ve mentioned this a couple of times, that you’re getting the books in order. What is the state of the books at this time?

SF: What is the state of the books? Well, getting the ACFR done, the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, is a huge step forward and, you know, represents a lot of work by a lot of people. And so that’s a huge relief, because the municipality was facing risks, and still is, on a number of fronts, as far as just even with our SEMT (Supplemental Emergency Medical Transport Program) grants, for example, which is the reimbursements for ambulances. And, you know, that was a huge impact that relied upon having the finances in the reporting done. And fund balance as well, knowing how much money is available from last year or not available. It’s hard to go into budget season, and it’s budget season, or it’s about to be that starting up, without a clear idea of how the municipality ended the year.

CG: Have you decided who you’re gonna vote for for president?

SF: I have.

CG: Are you willing to tell me who that is?

SF: You know, I’m not, because I’m very committed to, as I’m in this role of mayor, being focused on our community. And I feel like if I, you know, were to say, that might be a distraction or interfere with our focus on local issues and municipal operations.