Initial Report and Recommendations - Alaska Department of Law

The continuing escalation of fuel costs, which are more severe in Alaska than inthe Lower 48, is exacerbating the situation. As Alaska’s Senator Ted Stevens observed:As you know, high energy costs are an obstacle to long term sustainabilityand they hinder economic development in rural Alaska. Additionally, thelack of low cost and reliable energy sources makes it difficult to providerural Alaskans with basic amenities like water and sewer systems. 40The high costs of fuel and transportation need to be considered when budgetingfor transporting vehicles and equipment to villages in rural Alaska in addition toconstruction, and all of these factors are important when reviewing the Commission’srecommendations concerning meeting infrastructure needs of village law enforcement.4. Gaps in the Delivery of Governmental ServicesOn November 10, 2004, the Commission heard the testimony of Kevin Ritchie,Executive Director of the Alaska Municipal League, who described the disintegration ofmunicipal governmental structures in parts of rural Alaska:We have a number of cities that are literally disintegrating. Meaningpieces are falling off and ultimately some of these communities may notbe there – some are not there right now. We did a financial survey of allthe communities in Alaska. We had 93 responses. Actually we wereunable to contact a number of communities. One community, Nikolai.There may be reasons for this. We called [the community of] Nikolai andwe got a message that the phone’s been disconnected.Many communities don’t even have the basic person to carry on theprocess of taking care of city council business, doing the sorts of thingsthat need to be done just to maintain a local government.And in fact, a number of communities don’t provide services at all anymore. A number of communities in our survey have stopped providingfire protection, for example. . . . Obviously a number have not had publicsafety services to a great extent for quite a while. 41There are a number of reasons for the gaps that exist in many governmentalservices in rural Alaska. In most villages there is a lack of a tax base to financegovernmental functions, although the federally recognized tribes do receive some fundingfrom the Bureau of Indian Affairs that can be used to help support Indian ReorganizationAct (IRA) councils and traditional councils, and pay for some limited governmentalfunctions. Most villages and larger hub communities generate revenue through a salestax that supports governmental services, but most lack an adequate property tax base.4041Senator Stevens’s Address to the Alaska State Legislature, February 16, 2004. The speech is availableat: http://www.ktoo.org/gavel/archive.cfm?audio=5446Mr. Ritchie’s complete oral testimony was transcribed and is available on the Alaska Rural Justice andLaw Enforcement Commission’s website.Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission - Page 25