The North Slope Borough mayor and assembly members can now use borough funds to pay for travel expenses for their family members when the borough officials go on business trips.
In an 8-3 vote, the borough assembly passed an ordinance Dec. 3 to amend the municipal code sections that set the rules on travel allowances and per diem for borough officials and reimbursement of hosting expenses.
The prior code stated that the mayor and assembly members were allowed to travel on borough business with their immediate family members, but did not specify whether family members’ costs would be covered. The code did clearly state that the borough would cover transportation costs and per diem for the mayor and assembly members. It also said that in circumstances when there was no scheduled service and officials traveled on a charter, immediate family members were allowed to travel in spare seats at the borough’s expense.
The new code now states that the mayor may travel on borough business with their spouse and legal dependents, with costs paid by the borough. The assembly members can travel on borough business with their spouses’ costs covered.
The ordinance sparked a heated discussion during the assembly meeting.
Mayor Josiah Patkotak said that the intention behind the change was to clarify the borough code and align it with past practices, as well as to support elected officials who spend a lot of their time on business trips.
“The effort here is to make it crystal clear, is that something that we want to allow?” Patkotak said. “If we demand performance from our mayor, whoever it is, and we demand performance from the people that he employs, with that performance — takes sacrifice, we understand that ... I believe it’s important to acknowledge that sacrifice by allowing me to take my kids with me when I go to the villages.”
Several assembly members, employees and residents expressed concerns about officials using taxpayers’ money to allow their families to accompany them on trips.
“Josiah, your children are not the responsibility of the North Slope Borough, they’re your responsibility. You pay for their tickets,” resident Marietta Aiken said. “You guys have to be good stewards of the North Slope Borough’s money. Those are taxpayers’ money. People work hard to pay for their property tax. What you guys are trying to do for the best interest of the assembly, for the best interest of the mayor and his family — this is wrong, and I hope you guys see it.”
How much does the mayor travel?
To illustrate how often he travels, Patkotak included a travel log in the meeting documents. The log showed that of 420 days, he spent 130 days, or about 31%, traveling on borough business.
The log also showed that Patkotak traveled with his wife and one child for 11 days to Lima, Peru for the International Whaling Commission meeting, as well as for a week to New York for a bond sale. He took his wife and three children on multiple trips to villages across the region.
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Patkotak said that meeting in person with federal and state officials and business partners, and visiting North Slope villages, has helped him bring economic opportunities to the borough and make improvements in every community.
“That performance backs up what my travel schedule needs to be,” Patkotak said. “It makes it a lot easier for me to explain to my kids when I’m gone from their lives, the change that I’m trying to make in our borough and our communities.”
Patkotak added that in his eyes, “when you elect a mayor, you’re electing the family unit that he or she represents.”
The explanation was not sufficient for some residents.
“Josiah, I am not questioning your dedication, your desire to serve people. What I want you to realize is, you’re using tax dollars,” Aiken said. “You made a decision to run for this. ... I know you’re working, but at what expense? … Are the tax dollars going to have to pay for everything you do? You’re not poor. You make good money.”
Patkotak’s salary is over $270,000, according to the latest borough budget.
Assemblywomen Carla J. SimsKayotuk of Kaktovik and Eva Kinneeveauk of Point Hope said that they see value in supporting the mayor traveling with his family, but there should be a limit on the number of trips allowed, which is not included in the new code.
“It was nice to see you and your family come out to the villages and see the family unit — I wholeheartedly agree with that. I just don’t agree with how loosely this ordinance is written,“ SimsKayotuk said.
“We need to support and make sure that his spouse can be there on those important gatherings,” Kinneeveauk said. “I have no trouble if there was a limit in the verbiage of maybe five to six occasions, but to have an open travel — I think that’s a little too much.”
The new code also does not specify whether elected officials can use borough funds to bring their families to any destination, or just those in the U.S. or in Alaska.
Assemblyman Frederick Brower said that traveling is just one of the responsibilities for elected officials and the job they signed up for.
Brower also asked why the mayor and the assembly members can bring their families but borough employees cannot, and why the mayor can bring his spouse and children on the borough budget but assembly members are only allowed to cover costs for spouses.
Patkotak responded that the mayor operates under a separate set of rules.
“The mayor, whether it’s me or any other mayor, isn’t treated like any other employee of the borough, and isn’t treated like the assembly,” Patkotak said.
Clarifying the code
Patkotak said that the old code was unclear on whether the families of the mayor and assembly members could travel with them at the borough’s expense, and that the amendment would clarify it.
According to Patkotak, the previous mayors interpreted the code to have the borough cover costs for their family’s travel, and he has been following the same practice.
Beverly Hugo, Utqiaġvik Elder and retired Iñupiaq language teacher, was among the people who disagreed that this has been a common practice. Hugo said that other mayors did not bring their families with them unless it was necessary — like in the case of Eben Hopson, who became sick with cancer during his term and needed his wife to support him during work trips.
“Don’t try to brush it off (with), ‘Oh, the previous mayors did it.’ You know that’s no excuse. That is a big lie,” Hugo said.
Hugo added that the money the borough would spend on travel expenses could be used for improving infrastructure, funding education and providing services for Elders.
“Nobody’s taking care of the Elders, nobody’s taking care of renovating our houses, and there’s hardly been any new houses built. ... Housing, education, those are things that you guys need to be thinking of. ... Those kinds of things they’ve neglected while you guys want to (travel in) first class. Come on, get real. Get to roll up your sleeves and work. Find out what your people need.”
Earlier this fall, Point Hope City Council voted to remove former city mayor Tariek Oviok from office after he faced allegations from city officials and employees for misusing public funds by paying for his and his family’s travel unrelated to city business.
[Point Hope City Council unanimously votes to remove mayor from office]
After discussing the ordinance for about an hour and a half, the assembly voted to adopt it. Brower, Kinneeveauk and SimsKayotuk voted against the ordinance while five other assembly members supported it.
The ordinance also raised the per diem rate for elected officials so that it equals the rate for borough employees. Additionally, it adjusted the rules around hosting to allow the mayor or the mayor’s designee to host individuals and officials with meals and travel expenses, eliminating a note specifying that receipts and other expense documentation be presented to the borough.