On November 4 Anchorage voters will have the opportunity to set Anchorage's fiscal house back in order. Your yes vote on the ballot for Prop. 1 is a vote for Anchorage's best chance at restoring long-term balance between the taxes it collects from you and the cost of services our city provides.
Those opposing AO 37, the law that guides your city's labor contract negotiations, are circulating much misinformation. Those who oppose the law, primarily the city's police and firefighters unions, are spending nearly $1 million to scare you into thinking the law will jeopardize safety, result in the purchase of bad equipment and leave the voice of public safety professionals out of contract negotiations. None of this is true.
What AO 37 is, is a law that protects you, the citizen and taxpayer, from the kind of budget-busting contract provisions that have been politically negotiated by mayors and approved by assemblies in the past. Prop. 1 is essentially a taxpayer protection act.
Here is what AO 37 does not do: It does not lay off anyone. It does not reduce the wages of fire and police officers that are among the highest paid anywhere. It does not shut down or consolidate fire or police stations. It does not compromise safety of either the community or the employees.
Public safety is every elected official's top priority public service. Mayoral and Assembly candidates not only claim this at election time, they have backed it up with their actions. Our police and firefighting equipment is up-to-date and just what the community has asked for. Our fire stations are new and state of the art. Our public safety training programs prepare the best police officers and firefighters in the nation. No corners are cut. None.
When city budgets have been tight, other departments have taken the hit. Our budgets for road maintenance and snow plowing, library services, parks and recreation have been cut to allow us to have top-flight public safety. That's a fact.
The two unions say the input of police and fire professionals will be silenced by AO 37. Again, not true. The city administration is required to continue collective bargaining. The city's police and fire chiefs will continue to meet with the rank and file to gather input essential to their department and officers' needs.
In the past two years the city administration and unions have successfully and respectfully negotiated seven of the city's nine contracts in general conformance with AO 37. Only two remain: Police and Fire unions. Current contracts place the financial health of our city in peril for decades to come. Their unions did a good job negotiating double-digit wage and benefit increases, one-of a kind health benefits, plus overtime and retirement provisions for senior officers that are like no others in the United States.
Your elected officials, on the other hand, did a terrible job. They gave away the keys to the bank. They turned a blind eye to our Tax Cap, the law citizens passed that imposes strict limits on how much tax revenue the city can take from its taxpayers.
Did you know, for example, police and fire union contracts provide the option to take $700 each month of health insurance premiums as extra pay? In 2013 this totaled $2.3 million. Those premiums, which you pay for, are meant to provide needed insurance not be a wage bonus. This amount would permit hiring 12 more police officers. Did you know a firefighter can increase his or her pay by 46 percent as a result of pay "premiums" and "enhancements" -- not counting overtime? Did you know that police overtime must be offered first to officers with the most seniority and highest pay rate? Did you know overtime is then calculated into retirement pay causing the city's budget and public services to be hammered for decades to come? Previous elected officials negotiated these contracts. This is what Prop. 1 aims to prevent from happening again.
What about department staff levels? The fire department is at full strength. The police department will soon recover to full staffing levels from a surge in retirements due to an aging workforce and the "golden parachute" retirement packages negotiated and approved by former elected officials.
A yes vote on Prop. 1 puts necessary and reasonable constraints on what your elected officials can negotiate. It is every voter's responsibility to see our city live within its means -- now and always.
We hope you agree.
Chris Birch and Cheryl Frasca both served on the Anchorage Municipal Assembly and supported the 2013 introduction and approval of AO 37, the Responsible Labor Act. Birch is Chair and Frasca is Treasurer for the "Vote Yes for Anchorage -- Vote Yes on One" group advocating to Keep AO 37.
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