Alaska DOC requests $500.336 million for FY2027; 12 positions transferred into agency
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Summary
The Alaska Department of Corrections told a House Finance subcommittee it seeks $500,336,000 for FY2027, including 12 positions transferred from the Department of Administration and a total of 2,127 permanent full‑time positions budgeted. DOC leaders described main cost drivers as staffing, health care and facility maintenance and said details will be provided at follow‑up hearings.
The Department of Corrections on Feb. 12 told the Alaska House Finance Department of Corrections subcommittee it is seeking $500,336,000 for fiscal year 2027, an increase DOC officials attributed to staffing needs, rising health‑care costs and aging facility maintenance.
Deputy Commissioner April Wilkerson opened the presentation by outlining DOC’s four divisions and noting that the parole board is budgeted administratively inside DOC though it operates autonomously. She said the FY27 request reflects 2,127 permanent full‑time positions and the transfer of 12 payroll and shared‑services positions from the Department of Administration; Wilkerson said the funding for those positions was already in DOC’s budget and the transfers do not represent newly requested operating dollars.
The department emphasized three primary budget drivers: recruitment and retention of correctional staff, increasing health‑care costs driven by a population with chronic medical and dental needs, and the rising cost of maintaining aging facilities that sometimes require custom parts or capital investments. Wilkerson said DOC will continue to provide the committee with more detailed numbers as the subcommittee moves into the FY27 dollars and cents.
“There are an additional 12 positions within this budget that are being transferred,” Wilkerson said. “The funding for those positions were already in our budget.”
Wilkerson also pointed committee members to DOC’s published offender profile and to a recent study on the overrepresentation of Alaska Native people that DOC said it allowed the Alaska Federation of Natives and university partners to lead on behalf of the legislature.
Committee members pressed DOC for trend data comparing crime rates with DOC population and budget trends. Wilkerson said DOC is preparing the requested trend information and will provide it to the committee before the next meeting.
The subcommittee recessed the detailed FY27 budget review and scheduled continued consideration for the next meeting, when the committee will start with the fiscal slides and the department’s detailed funding requests.
The committee will reconvene Feb. 19 at 9 a.m. to continue the FY27 budget review.
