ACE Fund board outlines strategic plan, hiring timeline and budget questions; data gaps and grant barriers flagged

The Anchorage ACE Fund board on Oct. 9 presented a draft three‑year strategic plan, detailed its executive director hiring process and reviewed a proposed budget that relies on marijuana‑tax receipts and existing fund balance, while assembly members and staff pressed for clearer data management and changes to grant processes.

The work session, led by Trevor Storrs, chair of the ACE Fund board, and Austin Quinn Davidson, the fund's interim executive director, covered hiring (30 applications received), proposed program spending and short‑term fixes intended to stabilize Anchorage childcare and early‑childhood services.

Board and staff said the strategic plan's aim is to stabilize the local childcare sector and position it for sustainable growth. “We brought together a group of folks … to really be transparent and making sure that there's ways for community members and those in the profession to be at the table,” Storrs said. The draft plan sets five strategic initiatives and expects a final plan to come to the board for approval on Nov. 6.

Why it matters: the ACE Fund is a municipal funding stream intended to support childcare and early childhood programs in Anchorage. Board members said current funding cannot fully close the sector's needs — estimates in the session put annual marijuana‑tax receipts in the roughly $5.5 million range, with earlier collections and rollovers making this year’s budget larger (board members referenced figures near $8 million to $8.7 million in total available funds).

Hiring and timeline: the board's three‑member hiring committee (Storrs, Khalil and Jesse) included interim Executive Director Austin Quinn Davidson in the review process and reported that applications were open four weeks and closed in September, yielding 30 applicants. The committee plans a two‑tier interview process: an initial round of roughly five to 10 interviews, then two to three finalists for more in‑depth interviews. The goal is to complete hiring by late November or early December, offer a position so the new director can begin in January, and carry out a transition between January and April.

Defining “stabilization”: board members and attendees discussed how to measure sector stabilization. Storrs said one early idea was “net 0 loss of organizations or licensed carriers,” then noted that net zero for organizations could mask slot losses if a large provider closed and smaller ones opened. “So we're coming out with what is that best measurement and how we track that,” he said; the board said it is leaning toward measuring net zero loss of placement slots, with attention to high‑need categories such as infant care.

Data gaps and governance questions: multiple assembly members and attendees pressed the board on who will collect and steward the workforce and placement data needed to measure impact. Austin Quinn Davidson and board members said existing local entities, including THREAD (a sector organization), collect some data — for example, training and certification levels — but that no organization appears to know exactly how many childcare workers are employed in Anchorage today. “They collect a lot of data around levels of training and certification, but we actually don't have anyone who knows exactly how many employees are working in the sector right now in Anchorage,” Davidson said.

Assembly members and staff urged clearer responsibility for data management. One attendee said the municipality or the ACE Fund fiduciary must ensure data exist and are usable; others suggested the state or THREAD might host datasets if properly resourced. Board members said the strategic plan will explicitly identify data‑collection activities and that the budget includes room for administrative work to procure or contract for data services.

Budget review and funding sources: Storrs told the group the board adopted an initial budget on Aug. 7 and submitted it to the mayor and assembly per ordinance. Board presenters said the board's proposed budget and the administration's proposed ACE Fund budget are the same total amount in the materials shown to the work session, but the mayor's office recommended a few adjustments. Among the changes mentioned during the session were a reduction in retention bonuses (noted in the discussion as dropping “down to 400”) and a restoration of $100,000 for an in‑home startup fund that the mayor’s office favored.

Attendees also raised the mechanics of moving existing alcohol‑tax funds to the child‑care budget. The session noted that $2,000,000 previously funded in the alcohol tax for ASD pre‑K classrooms has been proposed to shift to the child‑care tax line. The administration cited three reasons for the proposed shift: overall budget tradeoffs, the ACE Fund's continued use of earlier collections (not only ongoing annual receipts), and a provision in Proposition 14 (Anchorage Charter) — cited in the meeting as “Section 606(a)(4) of Proposition 14” — that prioritizes use of existing school district facilities when considering how to spend marijuana tax proceeds.

Fund balance and cashflow: board members said the ACE Fund collected marijuana tax receipts for years before the board was operational and that some early collections are being spent now; presenters referenced use of fund balance and identified a $310,000 fund‑balance expenditure in the materials shown. Board and administration staff asked the assembly and attendees to review the administration's budget presentation in the broader municipal budget process.

Grant process, BidExpress and insurance barriers: multiple speakers raised concerns about the municipality's grant application platform (BidExpress/BidExpress-style portal used by purchasing) and the insurance requirements attached to municipal contracts. Presenters acknowledged BidExpress posed access challenges for small and non‑English‑first applicants and said the board and administration are surveying applicants about the experience. “There are some consistency benefits, but also clearly some challenges for folks who aren't used to it,” Davidson said. Municipal staff and the purchasing director present said they are reviewing options and expect to propose changes for next year.

Several participants noted that the purchasing system's insurance and contracting requirements — originally designed for contractors — impose significant burdens on small providers seeking grants or small contracts. Municipal staff said some insurance requirements can be waived by risk, but the contracting process has been intimidating and time‑consuming for small grantees; staff signaled plans to pursue changes and technical assistance.

Administration and administrative costs: the proposed budget includes administrative funding that covers the executive director position and grant management support inside the Department of Health. The board and several assembly members discussed the board's proposed administrative cap (the municipal rule cited a 10% cap on administrative costs) and cautioned about setting admin costs at the maximum because leftover administrative capacity may be needed for technical assistance, data procurement and grant support in future years.

Next steps: the ACE Fund board expects to finalize the strategic plan for board approval on Nov. 6, continue the executive director hiring process, and refine the 2026 budget and grant procedures during the municipal budget process. The administration will present its full ACE Fund budget in the municipal budget work session the following day; staff and the board said they will continue to work on data roles, grant technical assistance and improvements to the application and contracting processes.

Ending note: board Chair Trevor Storrs and interim Executive Director Austin Quinn Davidson thanked staff, the administration and assembly members for feedback and said the board will continue its work over the coming months as hiring and the strategic plan proceed.