PUBLISHER'S NOTEBOOK: Veterans and Seniors should not be political pawns

The news that proposed budget cuts could close Alaska’s Pioneer Homes has been upsetting to not only the residents of these homes but their families and the staff as well. With no budget close to being passed Pioneer Homes has found themselves being volleyed around by the state political scene in a shameful game of “he said, she said” with the Palmer facility being the proverbial political football.

So the political posturing begins, the Senate has proposed a $6.5 million reduction to the Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services. On April 12th, the Alaska House Majority Coalition released a statement entitled, Senators can reverse conceived cuts by adopting Houses full funded budget. In other words a fully funded budget with a state income tax.

According to Suzanne Downing’s story from Must Read Alaska, she spoke to a staff member close to the Senate Finance Committee and published the following: “We did have to make cuts in the places where there is the most UGF (undesignated general funds). But we put an unallocated cut on HSS. The department heads can move that money around but they’re spinning it this way because they want us to cave.”

Then there is the action taken by Anthony Newman of the Department of Health and Social Services who sent out this memo: “Following the Senate’s action on Monday to reduce funding for the Pioneer Homes by $6,542.6, the Department sent word to its administrators that the closure of the homes was only realistic way to meet this proposed budget target. The Palmer Home would be the most likely Home to be closed because the community has other resources that could be available to residents, and the Anchorage Home could be able to take those who had no other options. Be aware that closure of one Home will not be enough to meet the budget target, so the Department is analyzing the savings that would be achieved by closing the Juneau Pioneer Home as well.”

Then, as reported in Wednesday’s Frontiersman, a Pioneer Home employee stated she received an email from Alaska Pioneer Homes director Vickie Wilson reiterating Newman’s memo.

Governor Walker then took to social media on Tuesday to show his budget has funding for the Pioneer Homes. He even posted a photo of the line item in the HSS budget for $5,724,100 specifically for Alaska Pioneer Homes.

Then Thursday came this press release from Alaska Senate Majority in my inbox as I am writing this column: Alaska State Senators sent a clear, formal message today of their commitment to seniors and veterans residing in Alaska’s Pioneer Homes.

Today’s Sense of the Senate on the issue was unanimously approved by the body, reiterating the Senate’s support for Alaska’s Pioneer Homes and assuring its residents that their housing will remain open and fully operational after final action is taken on the budget. “Sense of the Senate” is a rarely utilized legislative process where a body votes to take a formal position on an issue.

Is your head spinning yet? I have whiplash from watching this football being thrown around. So who started this whole mess of using Alaska Pioneer Homes residents and employees as cannon fodder for the state budget debate? Does it really matter?

At last week’s, Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce meeting during political updates, Bert Hall who sits on the Alaska Pioneer Home advisory board, assured everyone that the Pioneer Home in Palmer, in his opinion, would not be closing. His basis is that we simply don’t have enough beds as it is for seniors elsewhere in the state. Alaska’s senior population is growing. Where are these people going to go? He also cited the governor’s tweet.

I think Bert is right. Since I have moved to the Mat-Su I’ve heard over and over again that the Baby Boomers are getting older and our senior population is growing at a record pace. So this leads me and many others to believe that this is just political posturing by both sides to get their version of a budget passed. What’s frustrating is there are families who now have to stress over where their loved ones will be housed and families who have to stress over if they will have a job in the near future. So using people’s lives as a political scare tactic is really unconscionable.

This whole episode shows us that the state really isn’t close to a budget resolution. It comes down to more spending cuts verses a state income tax. Now, more than ever, you need to reach out to your representative and give them your feedback. We can all agree on one thing; we need a resolution on a state budget in this session.