Bullish on the muni

EAGLE RIVER — Even as the state creeps closer to the edge of a fiscal cliff and threat of a government shutdown, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz was bullish on the economic future of the municipality during last Wednesday’s Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce at the Eagle River Ale House.

“In spite of all the problems, the municipality is a city on the move,” Berkowitz said. “Economically, we have a AAA rating, our bond rate actually improved in the last year in spite of all that’s happened in the oil patch, the fiscal problems and tumult nationally. We are a AAA city, and that allows us to refinance $20 million in bonds, and that’s why, I believe, people felt confident to pass a bond package (last November).”

Berkowitz said he’s also encouraged by home building and other construction in the area.

“Two weeks ago we were at 130 percent of where we were last year, and we’re at 110 percent now,” he said. “We have 2.5 to 3 times the number of remodels, which is an indication that businesses and individuals are investing in their houses and businesses are strong and moving ahead… Contractors are very hungry right now and we’re able to accomplish a lot with a little.”

The Mayor said his city is doing better than the state as a whole because it is taking a more long-term view to solutions.

“In spite of what’s going on at the state level, people (in the municipality) have confidence in what is going on here. The metrics we’ve done show that most people feel they’re doing OK. They’re mostly worried about their neighbors, which shows a sense of altruism,” Berkowitz said.

He said one sign of that strength is a bolstered police department.

“When I first became mayor we had 350 officers, and now with the new academy class we’ll have more than 420 officers. That’s more than the municipality has ever had,” Berkowitz said. “It’s not enough. Cities like ours ordinarily have like 700 officers. Ours is a great force and they’ll with 420 what others will do with 700.”

Berkowitz took questions from the audience, and on the matter of homelessness in the municipality, he said the problem is getting better, no matter what it looks like on the surface.

“We are on the leading edge of how to solve the problem,” Berkowitz said. “I know that sounds hard to believe, but our numbers are on the decline from last year. It’s still a very visible problem and we still have a long ways to go but we’re doing things many would consider best-practice.”

Berkowitz said those practices include taking a suvery of known homeless people and keeping up with each person’s progress to see if “we are connecting people to the services and housing opportunitites that exist. The best thing we can all collectively do is housing. The reason for that is not only that we have a moral responsibility; we also have a fiscal responsibility. There’s different types of homelessness, and the hard-core ones on the streets cost $40-$60,000 per year per person in social cost — hospital, emergency services. Housing reduces that cost $20,000 per person. Collectively, that is big savings.”

As for solutions statewide, Berkowitz said cutting costs will only get you so far, and that the PFD must necessarily be part of the equation.

“Why did Willie Sutton rob banks? Because that’s where the money is, and that’s why the PFD has to be part of the solution,” Berkowitz said. “It’s a key piece of the reason we have economic stability some other states don’t.”