Anchorage Assembly Approves $640M Budget After Police Oversight Debate
by sdmn
The Anchorage Assembly approved a $640M budget after heated debates on police oversight. Proposals for civilian review of APD were rejected, despite community concerns over police violence. The budget includes funding for equity and youth programs.
The Anchorage Assembly approved a $640 million operating budget after hours of deliberation and key amendments. Among the most debated proposals were efforts to allocate funds for civilian oversight of the Anchorage Police Department (APD), a contentious issue in light of recent officer-involved shootings.
One amendment proposed contracting with the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) for $75,000 to study oversight models. Assembly member Daniel Volland, a sponsor of the amendment, argued for the initiative, emphasizing the need for reform. “Frankly, I think we are in a place in time, here in Anchorage, when it comes to policing, where our best practices are lagging behind other jurisdictions,” Volland said, as reported by Alaska Public Media.
Opposition to the proposal centered on concerns about its potential impact on police morale and staffing. Member Zac Johnson expressed caution, noting the city’s ongoing struggles to fill police positions. “You have to also weigh the impact this has on the people doing the job and recognize that there will be probably fewer of them showing up to do it in the future if we continue down this path,” Johnson said, as reported by Alaska Public Media.
The Assembly ultimately voted down the amendment 9-3, with Volland, Anna Brawley, and Felix Rivera in favor. A similar proposal to explore broader oversight options was also defeated, though by a narrower 7-5 margin. The vote comes after community-wide concerns about an increase in police violence. As we previously reported, the last few months saw 8 police-related shootings, 5 of them fatal, and in which casualties included a 16-year-old girl. Activists had been pushing for the establishment of a civilian oversight review board, a move that has been undertaken in similar cities around the country. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance opposed both amendments, citing two third-party reviews of APD already undertaken by her administration. In other budget matters, the Assembly unanimously approved amendments to allocate $130,000 to the Office of Equity and the Alaska Black Caucus Equity Center kitchen and direct $400,000 of marijuana tax revenue to cover membership fees at Boys and Girls Clubs. The budget, approximately $25 million higher than the previous year, takes effect in January and is expected to lead to a small increase in property taxes.
