Local governments across the state are dealing with a lack of housing, childcare shortages, and a sharp decline in workforce retention. Those were some of the top issues highlighted at the Alaska Municipal League's (AML) summer legislative conference in Kodiak from Aug. 13-15.
Nils Andreassen is the executive director of the Alaska Municipal League (AML), a nonprofit that represents roughly 165 boroughs and cities throughout Alaska.
He told KMXT during a local public affairs program, Talk of the Rock, on Aug. 13 that although each community in the state is different, there are some similarities.
“So housing being at the forefront right now, something we hear whether you’re in Kotzebue, or Ketchikan and Kodiak, no different. Childcare remains an issue, both affordability and access… I would say workforce retention and recruitment right now spans all communities,” Andreassen stated.
About a third of AML’s members, including the City of Kodiak and Kodiak Island Borough, were represented at last week’s annual summer conference, which was held downtown. John Whiddon and Terry Haines of the City of Kodiak, along with Scott Arndt the Mayor of the Kodiak Island Borough are also on the AML Board of Directors. Kodiak’s Mayor Pat Branson is a former president of the Board too.
Andreassen said many of those communities are struggling to attract and retain employees in a variety of jobs, but especially within the local government offices.
“We have members, local governments who are operating on a 30% reduction in their workforce. And I think that’s pretty common around the state. So it means you’re doing the same job that you have to do to meet residents' needs with a lot fewer people," he explained.
For example, the Aleutian Islands community of King Cove is having to adapt its local economy, which is predominantly reliant on the fishing industry according to Mayor Warren Wilson, after the Peter Pan processing plant has been closed for the past year.
Housing is one of the biggest needs when workers relocate to any Alaska community. And with a shortage of affordable options in many rural communities, like Kodiak, Andreassen said more systemic investments are needed.
“You can get them to a place where they’ve got the opportunity to live and provide services within a community. But they’ve got to see a future in that community. They have to know that there’s a school that will deliver. They have to know that there’s public safety that will deliver," Andreassen said. "They have to know that infrastructure isn’t going to crumble around them, and that taxes won’t go up to pay for all those other things.”
Public safety and law enforcement officers, along with other essential employees, are some of the main groups of the local workforce struggling to find housing in Kodiak right now.
The Alaska Municipal League’s summer legislative conference helps prepare local governments and state lawmakers to address some of these key issues through new legislation and policy over the coming months.
Andreassen said his organization plans to put out a policy statement soon, which will be debated and finalized at the next annual AML conference in December, ahead of the next session of the Alaska State Legislature. He also expects AML might put together a new working group to address some of the local governments’ really pressing issues, like workforce retention.
