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OMB briefs Assembly on 1Q budget, says 1Q proposal is $480,000 under the tax cap
Summary
Onna Brows, OMB director, told the Assembly’s budget committee the administration plans an S-version of the 1Q budget after the Assembly work session, the 1Q proposal sits $480,000 under the municipal tax cap, and preliminary mill-rate calculations show a 0.35 reduction from 2024.
Onna Brows, director of the Office of Management and Budget, briefed the Assembly budget committee on the timeline and mechanics for the municipality’s first-quarter budget revisions and said the administration plans to present an “S-version” incorporating agreed changes after the Assembly’s amendment work session.
Brows told the committee that “Our work session for assembly amendments is scheduled tomorrow,” and that the administration will prepare an S-version that incorporates known changes to AWU budgets, Anchorage hydro budgets, and a few revenue and treasury appropriations. The administration intends to meet with the mayor after the Assembly work session and present the S-version to the Assembly so members have time to prepare for any remaining amendments.
Brows said the 1Q proposal is $480,000 under the municipal tax cap and that the package includes an $8.5 million increase in tax-cap authority compared with the 2025 budget adopted in November. She also said preliminary mill-rate calculations are 0.35 lower than 2024 but cautioned that recent assessment increases could offset the mill-rate decline for individual homeowners.
Assembly members asked for detail on administrative changes and whether the S-version will affect the stated $480,000 margin under the cap. Brows said she was not aware of any administrative adjustments at that time that would change that margin and that she would update members if refined numbers showed a material impact.
Committee members discussed procedural details for amendments. The chair announced the Assembly work session will be in the same room from noon to 2 p.m. the next day and asked members to be prepared to present amendments. Members asked for clearer line-item detail in advance and for acronym expansion during briefings to help new members follow the process.
Brows said departments are preparing small changes and revenue updates and that the administration will meet with the mayor after the work session to determine which amendments can be incorporated while keeping the total under the cap. She also noted options to use marijuana-tax fund balance or to cut or reallocate proposed items if needed to accommodate Assembly amendments.
Members and OMB staff discussed arranging future education sessions during summer meetings on topics such as fund types (the “color of money”), tax-cap mechanics, and closeout of earthquake and other emergency recovery funds ahead of the 2026 proposed budget process.
The Assembly did not vote on any budget amendments at the meeting; members were asked to submit draft amendments to staff and be prepared for the scheduled work session.
