Alaskans have ‘unrealistic expectation’ that roads, sidewalks will be plowed promptly, Dunleavy administration claims

There are obvious reasons that the state will not spend $2.4 billion in the next fiscal year on Permanent Fund dividends, far more than the state spends on education or any other service.

But that didn’t stop some Alaska news organizations from playing along with the Dunleavy public relations gimmick of a $3,860 pledge. He can’t possibly deliver this because the Legislature will be forced to deal with the budget tradeoffs, demands for services, unpredictable oil prices and the other big issues that Dunleavy ignores.

The Anchorage Daily News: “Dunleavy’s budget proposal includes $3,900 dividend, no increases for education and a carbon capture idea.”

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: “Governor proposes boost to public safety and $3,860 dividend next year.”

Alaska’s News Source: “A Permanent Fund dividend of nearly $4,000 might be landing in the pockets of Alaskans next year, according to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget announcement today in Juneau.”

Spoiler alert: It won’t be landing in the pockets of Alaskans next year.

There won’t be enough money to pay for it and the other services Alaskans expect. The Dunleavy budget, once the governor fills in some of the holes that have been left open to make the budget appear smaller, could easily require withdrawing a half-billion from savings. The Legislature will try to fix what Dunleavy won’t deal with.

The big snow dump in Anchorage provides an illuminating example of why news coverage of the budget has to include a discussion of tradeoffs, not just a headline mentioning the dividend.

The Anchorage Daily News has a good editorial on the topic, raising essential questions that should be part of every budget news story in the state.

The newspaper asked why Anchorage sidewalks are not getting cleared.

“As for the sidewalks, all three of the state Department of Transportations’ sidewalk plows are inoperable, according to Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transit System Policy Committee chair Wolfgang Junge, resulting in the department needing to borrow one from Fairbanks,” the Daily News said.

The plow was borrowed from Fairbanks where there are sidewalks that aren’t getting plowed.

“Even three sidewalk plows, were they all in service, seems like a woeful number to service state-maintained pedestrian facilities in a city of nearly 300,000. And DOT’s current maintenance budget summary spells the situation out plainly. In a section titled “Key component challenges,” it noted: “Low (employee) counts make managing long winter schedules difficult, threaten continuity of operations at airports, lower the overall level of service provided by (Maintenance and Operations), and decrease the capture of federal funds for summer maintenance programs. Reduced ability to replace aging equipment on schedule is leading to increased equipment ‘downtime’ and excessive maintenance costs which exceed replacement costs.”

“A little further along, the budget summary noted that the department has been getting an earful from Alaskans, citing an “unrealistic expectation that maintenance will be provided at the same level as 10 years ago. This expectation is simply unrealistic given budget cuts, personnel reductions and increases in facilities which must be maintained.”

Unrealisitic expectations?

It’s not unrealistic to expect the governor to do his job. It’s realistic to expect that he will get the transportation department the money, equipment and personnel it needs by asking the Legislature for more.

But the Dunleavy administration has the gall to blame this on the Legislature, suggesting anyone who doesn’t like the level of maintenance should ask legislators to do something, not the governor.

When Dunleavy announced his budget with his imaginary dividend plan, he did not propose a suitable increase in maintenance and operations funding. Doing so would have added to the deficit and helped to reveal the emptiness of his new round of dividend grandstanding.

The transportation department said a year ago its maintenance and operations division couldn’t meet the department’s mission with its current resources.

DOTPF Commissioner Ryan Anderson appeared with Dunleavy to hype the budget and claimed everything was great in his department. Meanwhile, a document from his department from December 2021 painted a damning portrait about how the state is falling short and the “unrealistic expectation” that Alaskans have about maintenance and operations.

When people ask for service, DOT says, “callers/complainers are directed back to their legislators to advocate for additional funding for maintenance.”

DOT should be directing all of these calls to the governor.

This is just one example of why the news coverage of the Dunleavy budget must show Alaskans what is hidden behind his imaginary dividend plan.

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There are the “challenges” faced by the state DOT maintenance and operations branch in Southcentral, according to a budget document released at the end of 2021. Service is deteriorating and people have an “unrealistic expectation” that the agency can match the glory years of the Parnell administration, the Dunleavy administration claims.