(SitNews) - The Alaska House Finance Committee released details about how many Alaskans weighed in during a series of community meetings recently held to discuss the proposed cuts by Governor Michael Dunleavy to the budget which touches education, the Alaska Marine Highway System, Medicaid, corrections, and more.

The community meetings held by the finance committee statewide were the first of their kind and said held to provide Alaskans the opportunity to communicate directly with lawmakers in a format that was open to the public to get a better sense of what services people consider critical and what people can do without.

The Alaska House Majority reported:  

• 1,000 people provided feedback during the statewide community meetings held in Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Kenai, Ketchikan, Juneau, Mat-Su, and Sitka. 
  
  
• Of the people who provided input on the budget, 990 voiced opposition to the governor’s drastic cuts. 202 supported the governor’s plan, leaving a 5-to-1 margin of opposition to the governor's proposed budget cuts.
  
  
• The leading topic of discussion statewide was K-12 education. Overall, 839 voiced opposition to Governor Dunleavy’s proposed cuts to school funding. 
  
  
• Another common refrain was a push for a sustainable Permanent Fund Dividend, rather than the governor’s proposal to double the PFD. 611 spoke to their desire for balance between the size of the PFD and the state’s ability to provide critical services Alaskans rely on. 206 opposed reducing the dividend. 
  
  
• More than 300 people spoke out in favor of preserving funding for Medicaid, the University, and Alaska Marine Highway System. 
  
  
• Nearly 900 people spoke in favor of the State of Alaska taking a step to diversify revenue. 

When questioned by SitNews if the turnout could be statistically significant considering the total turnout for the community meetings held statewide was much less than 1% of Alaska's registered voters, and would the legislature consider accessing voters statewide with a ballot for more extensive participation, Austin Baird, Communications Director responded by email.

Baird wrote that the level of public participation in the budget process this year is substantially higher than it has been in the last five years, and likely much longer. Baird wrote, "One point of reference: 213 people weighed in on the budget last year compared to 1,784 this year.  Other town hall hearings hosted by the Legislature have drawn hundreds more. More than 700 attended the Anchorage legislative caucus hearing on March 2, for example. Last, significantly more people have attended the public meetings hosted by the Legislature than have attended events during the governor’s private roadshow."

"Pollsters in Alaska typically consider a sample size of 500 or more statistically significant, so while the 1,784 figure is far less than the number of registered voters, it is statistically significant and informative for lawmakers facing tough decisions. To be clear, this public input is one data point of many. And to answer your question directly – a few proposals to put aspects of the fiscal plan to a public vote are advancing through the Legislature now," wrote Baird.

However, the writer of this article takes the position that community meetings are not the same as random polls designed by professional pollsters. Public community meetings are not designed as meticulously researched surveys presented to a random population.

SitNews questioned if those who spoke in favor of increasing the budget had sticks in the fire. For example, either their jobs depended on a budget increase or their agency's funding depended greatly on budget increases. Were disclaimers encouraged for those who testified at the community meetings to determine who would financially benefit from increases?

Baird's response was, "Everyone has a “stick in the fire” – parents concerned about class size, coastal residents who rely on the Marine Highway, local government officials who will grapple with multi-million dollar shortfalls if the governor’s budget passes as-is, people who are receiving healthcare through Medicaid, etc. As such, we did not attempt to flag input as you suggest." And, Baird wrote they attempted to remove duplicative testimony in the reported figures.

“The outpouring and the passion from Alaskans has been incredible,” said Speaker Bryce Edgmon. “We’ve heard from Alaskans who would lose access to healthcare if Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget passes as-is. We’ve heard from teachers who don’t know if they’ll have a job this fall, elders on a fixed income who fear they’ll lose senior benefits, and people in communities at risk of losing their only highway.” 

 “The House Majority hears you and thanks everyone who’s spoken out,” said Rep. Chuck Kopp. “As we continue to build this budget, our goal is to balance living within our means and providing for the critical needs of our most vulnerable residents.” 

The statewide community meetings held by the House were funded through public funds. The Governor's meetings were funded through a private organization Americans For Prosperity- Alaska with several of the meetings provided live.

The Alaska House Finance Committee completed its work on the budget Friday and now it goes to the Alaska House of Representatives for consideration and any possible amendments - and certainly much more debate.

It should be noted the budget the House Finance Committee worked Friday on was not the budget being proposed by Gov. Michael Dunleavy for FY2020 but former Governor Bill Walker's FY2019 adjusted budget. The committee cut a total of approximately $257 million from this 2019 budget proposing a $5.3 billion budget, almost $700 million than the Governor's proposed $4.6 billion budget.

The only identified source for the committee's proposed increase in spending is from the Alaska Permanent Dividend. The House Finance Committee proposed a dividend for eligible Alaskans of around $1,400.00 which is more than half of the Governor's proposed dividend of $3,000.

At the invitation of the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce, Governor Dunleavy will be in Ketchikan tomorrow (Monday, April 8, 2019) to give a special presentation to the Chamber. According to the Chamber the meeting is open to the public. The luncheon starts at noon at the Sunny Point Conference Center at the Landing, the cost $20 for lunch and $5 for listening.

 

Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.

SitNews ©2019
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews are considered protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper freelance writers and subscription services. E-mail your news & photos to editor@sitnews.us Photographers choosing to submit photographs for publication to SitNews are in doing so granting their permission for publication and for archiving. SitNews does not sell photographs. All requests for purchasing a photograph will be emailed to the photographer.