KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak’s delegation to the state legislature, Senator Gary Stevens and Representative Alan Austerman, fielded questions from the audience at the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday.
Stevens, who is the Senate President, said he has enjoyed working with Austerman in the legislature again.
— (Delegation 1 32 sec "In 2000, we were working … that would be the budget.")
Stevens said that there could be a windfall of capital projects for Kodiak, because of deals made last year in the legislature:
— (Delegation 2 28 sec "We put money aside … what we’re going to be working on.")
For his part, Austerman said the budget should include more spending on capital projects, but what those items might be is up in the air between the legislature and Governor Sean Parnell.
— (Delegation 3 37 sec "We are going to be looking … and more room.")
However, Austerman warned that state capital spending cannot remain at such high levels, and that in five or six years from now there’s going to be what he called "a big wall coming at us:"
— (Delegation 4 47 sec "We’re not going to go hog wild … imposing an income tax.")
The legislative session begins in less than two weeks.
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