At the August 17 Assembly Budget & Finance Committee meeting, Acting CFO Alden Thern announced that FEMA, along with the State of Alaska, are expected to reimburse the Municipality approximately $125 million in COVID-19 related costs, roughly 98% of all municipal expenditures related to the pandemic.
The announcement comes in light of a recent FEMA decision to reimburse the Municipality for $2.3M in sheltering costs after the State of Alaska rescinded their declaration of a public health emergency on July 1, 2022.
Today, Assembly Budget & Finance Committee Co-Chairs Anna Brawley and Meg Zaletel issued the following statement:
“This announcement is an affirmation that the Municipality responsibly leveraged municipal savings as our community faced an unprecedented emergency and followed through to ensure taxpayer funds were restored as quickly as possible. Our savings covered a robust local emergency response, provided critical public health services and kept core municipal services running. We purchased protective equipment, established testing and vaccination sites city-wide and provided emergency shelter to protect the life, health and safety of thousands of our neighbors so our community could get back to work and school safely.
Thanks to Alden Thern and his team of dedicated public servants, the Municipality is on track to recoup nearly all our costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We extend our gratitude to Mr. Thern and the team that brought these reimbursements to fruition. We are proud of your consistent, measured approach and thank you for your advocacy on behalf of the people of Anchorage when we needed it most."
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Contact:
Anna Brawley | District 3, anna.brawley@anchorageak.gov
Meg Zaletel | District 4, meg.zaletel@anchorageak.gov