Alaska editorials

Here is a sampling of editorial opinions from Alaska newspapers:

Dec. 18, 2016

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Governor’s fiscal plan highlights need for new revenue

News-Miner opinion: In his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, Gov. Bill Walker takes a third crack at closing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Next year, he might have a Legislature that’s willing to give serious attention to the revenue plans necessary to reduce and eliminate that deficit. In the new budget, the governor tries to walk a tightrope: How best to pare money from state operations for a third straight year while harming services as little as possible? In a crucial move for the state, he balances those cuts with restructuring of the Alaska Permanent Fund’s earnings reserve and other revenue increases in an attempt to provide a broader base for the state’s income than the overwhelming reliance on oil and gas production taxes.

The new budget, which covers the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2017, would eliminate almost 800 positions from state government. Coupled with the roughly 2,500 positions already shed in the past two years, it’s a reduction of about 15 percent in the overall state workforce. Although the position cuts have helped reduce the overall state budget, they haven’t done a great deal to reduce the magnitude of the deficit. The difficulty in shrinking the amount of red ink owes to the significant percentage of items in the state budget over which the administration has little or no control - health care, pension obligations to state employees (those currently working and those who have already retired) and facilities maintenance, to name a few. Members of the incoming Legislature should recognize that and take the governor’s proposals for significant revenue changes seriously.

Back on the table will be a restructuring of the permanent fund earnings reserve, the centerpiece of every serious effort to balance the state budget. Though attempts to go forward with such a restructuring last session were labeled as attempted theft of the permanent fund dividend by political opportunists, little could be further from the truth. If the state is to maintain the level of services that Alaskans expect (based on the significant outcry when cuts touch popular programs), restructuring the earnings reserve is the only way to ensure the dividend will be around for future generations. Absent the increased revenue generated by such a plan, the Legislature will be forced to deplete the earnings reserve to cover the deficit, draining it entirely in a few short years and leaving no legal way to pay out dividend checks.

Even with the restructuring, more work will be required to bring the budget into balance. Gov. Walker’s budget would result in a $900 million deficit if passed unaltered, which would represent great progress but clearly is not a workable plan for the long term. Legislators will have to work with the governor to decide what additional revenue measures will be necessary. Measures proposing the revival of the state’s income tax were filed but saw no action during the last legislative session, and the new Democrat-led majority caucus in the House has already signaled its members plan to revive the debate over oil tax credits, which if left unchanged are forecast by the legislative budget and audit office to outweigh production revenues for the next 10 years or more. Whatever legislators and the governor decide, the prime mover in their decision should be the impact of their budget choices on Alaskans, especially those with limited means and little ability to absorb significant changes in expenses.

The table is set for the new legislative session in January. May the new group of lawmakers have the courage to make the hard choices about the state’s budget that many members of the former Legislature lacked.

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Dec. 15, 2016

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: UAF begins search for a leader

News-Miner opinion: The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been the state’s flagship college campus for almost 100 years, and soon it may again have a permanent chancellor. Budget woes caused the delay in finding a permanent replacement for departed Chancellor Brian Rogers, who resigned in August 2015. And though interim Chancellors Mike Powers and Dana Thomas have served the campus well since then, a permanent chancellor will give the institution clarity of direction and stability going forward at a time when those qualities are sorely needed.

Former Chancellor Rogers, who had served since 2008, left his post in August 2015 after the first year of strong legislative pressure to reduce the system’s budget. The resignation came as a shock; not only was Chancellor Rogers well regarded in the community, but he also was considered a leading candidate to take over as president of the entire university system from departing President Patrick Gamble. In announcing his resignation, Chancellor Rogers cited health issues brought on by the stress of office, stemming not only from the budget pressure but also UAF’s issues relating to compliance with advising requirements for NCAA athletes.

The intervening year and four months for UAF and other University of Alaska Fairbanks campuses has indeed been challenging. Two years of reduced budgets for the institution resulted in the consideration and later rejection of single accreditation across the university’s campuses. That proposed shift, considered as a cost-saving measure, caused the university to drop a nationwide search for a permanent chancellor after three finalists, all of them from outside Alaska, had already been selected. This year, an internal university report suggested that the savings from single accreditation would not be nearly as pronounced as expected, and there would be considerable risks of negative impacts that would outweigh any potential savings.

Accordingly, after strong work by interim chancellors Mike Powers and Dana Thomas, UAF is once again beginning a search for a permanent chancellor. This should be a positive for the campus. Though both Mr. Powers and Mr. Thomas have done good work for UAF, more continuity of effort would help that work take root. When Mr. Powers was interim chancellor, for instance, he announced a new focus on Title IX compliance and support of potential victims of domestic violence and sexual assault on campus. And though UAF has certainly made noticeable strides in adopting an attitude condemning those problems, recent allegations by students going through the Title IX process would be a good place for a permanent chancellor to focus and provide a sustained change for the institution.

The search for a chancellor will be nationwide, though strong consideration will be given to applicants who have in-state experience. That’s wise, as the university’s budget level appears far from settled, and much work will need to be done making changes under President Jim Johnsen’s Strategic Pathways plan. As the university approaches its centennial, UAF should remain the system’s flagship campus for many years to come, and a permanent chancellor will help lead the way.