In the race for Mayor of Anchorage candidates are offering possible solutions for the coming recession. Today Claman vs Monegan.

I am not an economist, but even I can see that the financial problems facing this city in the next few years will mean a reduction in some services or multiple layoffs within the city government.

Neither of these is likely to make the new mayor very popular.

Here is what acting Mayor Matt Claman has just done to address this problem.

For the first time in decades, the Anchorage Fire Department closed one fire station and parked two fire trucks at other stations Friday in an effort to save money in the face of ongoing budget woes.

Station 15 in Bayshore was closed all day, while a truck at the downtown Station 1 and another at the Dimond Boulevard station, No. 12, were unstaffed until 9 p.m., said Anchorage Fire Chief Craig Goodrich.

It was the first time any city fire services have been suspended since the mid-1970s, Goodrich said.

"It beats closing any station permanently," said division chief Bridget Bushue. "Hopefully this is a temporary fix."

Tom Wescott, president of the Anchorage firefighters union, disagreed with the decision, though. "It's a gamble," he said. "When you close down Station 15 ... you are keeping your fingers crossed that nothing happens there that requires a timely response."

By closing down three fire rigs, he said, the city lost 15 percent of its 20 fire apparatuses for a day. That, he says, is too much.

While the closures might not have shut down any ambulances per se, he said, it did affect medical response times because when the city's seven or eight ambulances can't get to a person, which they sometimes cannot, it's the paramedics and EMT's on the fire trucks who respond instead. "They get everything started and going, they just can't transport," Wescott said.

What the hell! Look man if you have a patient whose arm is injured, you don't cut out his freaking heart!

There are undoubtedly a lot of places where waste can be cut from the city budget that does not potentially determine if a taxpayers house burns to the ground or his children make it to the hospital in time to save their lives! How do vital emergency services make it to the top of the cost cutting list?

I have never been horribly impressed with Matt Claman but this is so irresponsible that I am having trouble believing that he spent any time thinking it over before he issued the budget cutting measures.

Hell maybe he doesn't want the job.

So are there any other potential budget cutting ideas that don't include just sitting back and watching houses burn?

Well according to mayoral candidate Walt Monegan, yeah.

With the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) facing a projected $17.5 million budget shortfall, Monegan offered his spending priorities and ideas for new revenue streams for the City.

Among other strategies, he will focus on protecting core services such as education, public health and safety, and transportation. In his statement, Monegan stated, “While all departments will feel the pinch of the budget shortfall, there are a number of departments that need to be protected as much as possible. Even though the Anchorage School District is largely funded (more than 60%) by monies from the state and federal governments, we must seek ways to maximize their budget, such as adopting standard designs for new and remodeled schools saving millions in design costs.”

“Also, in our current economic condition, public safety will be more important than ever. Historically, when the economy weakens, crime rates increase, and increased crime threatens property values and tourism revenues. As tight household budgets becomes tighter still, some may cut back energy to heat homes or cook meals; and using alternative heating sources or the improper methods of thawing of frozen water pipes can increase the chance of filling a home with lethal CO or can cause fire. Yet, even in public health, safety, and transportation, we may have to delay certain enhancement projects, though we must still focus on such essential services like elder and child care, food inspection, and snow removal.”

Regarding the specter of worker lay-offs, Monegan will examine each individual departments staffing structure, to see if economy can be found in the management levels first. Laying off only those actually on the line who directly render the service to our community would not be in the best interest of public service.

In light of the growing popularity of the repairing the property tax cap initiative that will appear on the April ballot, Monegan both supports the initiative and is also carefully considering a sales tax plan. Property taxes can be further reduced without sacrificing city services if they are offset dollar for dollar by a small sales tax. Monegan is looking at a focused and well-crafted sales tax after reviewing the sales tax models currently in place in a number of Alaskan communities. Approximately 90 communities in Alaska have some type of sales tax. Monegan commented, “In order to minimize the negative effects of a broad-based tax, it is imperative that we put meaningful sideboards on a sales tax. I will work towards a balanced sales tax proposal that at least:

• excludes groceries and prescription medications,
• includes a limit on a total sales tax amount on individual purchases, and
• has a sunset date to give the assembly and my administration the ability to thoroughly analyze the success and impact of that tax.”

In addition to his spending and revenue proposals, Monegan offered to revisit innovative approaches to encouraging economic development such as enterprise zones. Enterprise zones are economically depressed neighborhoods that can be renovated through tax incentives and were initially proposed by former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp and re-introduced in Alaska in 2001 by former Fairbanks Rep. Joe Hayes (D-Fairbanks). Enterprise Zones offer short-term tax exemptions for new business enterprises in traditionally economically depressed areas.

Lastly, Monegan will take a 10% reduction in salary and will ask the same of his immediate appointed staff. Monegan stated, “I want it to be absolutely clear that I will not be asking this of all municipal employees. I will respect and abide by all of the collective bargaining agreements currently in place. However, I will not ask any city employee to take a reduction before I and my executive team take a reduction first.”

As of yet I am still on the fence as to which candidate (if any) I will endorse for mayor. But if all the other candidates are going to make it as easy to dismiss as Matt Claman just did this might not take very long at all.