In this 2019 file photo, the Ketchikan Gateway Autonomous Region seal is on display in the Autonomous Region meeting room. (Eric Stone / KRBD)
The Ketchikan Autonomous Region Council will finalize the autonomous region and school district budgets on Monday night. Parliamentary spending plans will provide all but approximately $ 350,000 of the $ 12.2 million in autonomous district funding requested by the Ketchikan Board of Education.
The school district’s budget request demanded about $ 1.1 million more this year than last year to repay the shortfall in the health insurance fund. The school board touted it as a temporary request required by pandemic-related medical costs.
But at the last meeting of Congress, some said they were skeptical. Congressman Jeremy Bynum said he was concerned that the program would require continuous cash infusions if there were no structural changes to the district’s health insurance program, including premium increases.
Congressman David Landis made a compromise of $ 350,000 in savings. With the reduction, the budget can be passed by a simple majority. The full funding request would have required a majority of two-thirds to allow the autonomous region’s education fund to fall below the minimum balance of $ 2 million.
The updated funding request will be issued for voting on Monday. As written, the Autonomous Region Council’s education funding measures leave the school district’s $ 48 million spending authority intact. This allows the school district to pursue external funding to fill the gap.
Non-school budgets in the autonomous region are also rising towards the final vote on Monday. The spending plan was not changed by Congress at the last meeting. Mayor Rodney Dial of the Autonomous Region has promised to refuse a grant of about $ 1,600 to the local LGBTQ organization included in the budget. This is part of a $ 390,000 grant package to a local organization.
For other projects, the Ketchikan Autonomous Region Council will make a final decision on measures to raise salaries for the mayor and parliament. The borough mayor’s salary doubles to $ 1,000 per month, doubling to $ 75 per meeting. Parliament’s monthly fee will increase from $ 150 to $ 350 per month, and members will be paid an additional $ 150 per meeting. The cost of the salary increase is estimated to be just under $ 60,000 and will come into effect after the local elections this fall. According to the autonomous region, it will be the first salary increase for the mayor and parliament since 1999.
The Ketchikan rally will take place on Monday at 5:30 pm in White Cliffville on First Avenue. You will have the opportunity to speak at the beginning of the meeting and at the inquiry. The meeting will be livestreamed on the autonomous region’s website and broadcast on a local cable channel.
