WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an Alaska Native tribal health and social services consortium established by the Interior Alaska tribes and tribal communities, to provide a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development and culture of the Interior Alaska Native; and
WHEREAS, the budget proposed by Governor Dunleavy on Wednesday, February 13th, cuts the state operating budget $1.6 Billion dollars while paying out a full Permanent Fund Dividend check; and
WHEREAS, the proposed budget cuts foundation funding for K-12 education, for a total of $340 million dollars, of which $10 million is from our rural school districts; which could result in layoffs of greater than 50% of the teaching staff from some of those school districts, and
WHEREAS, the University system will be cut by $134 million, over 40% of state funding, under the Governor’s proposal, which would likely require entire campuses to close and critical programs to be terminated; and
WHEREAS, $271 million (almost 40%) will be trimmed from Medicaid Services, which brings in an additional $400+ million of federal funding; and
WHEREAS, $3 million will be cut from the Village Public Safety Officer Program, in addition to an additional $3 million cut from last year’s budget due to a supplemental budget bill attempting to claw back funding for future hires and rural public safety infrastructure projects; and
WHEREAS, proposed funding cuts for all pre-K education programs, funding for public broadcasting, Alaska Legal Services, front line social workers, basic internet access to schools and libraries, and the Senior Benefit Programs would be devastating to our communities; and
WHEREAS, any change to the way that the Power Cost Equalization Fund is managed and dispersed jeopardize the longevity of the fund and the intent and purpose of the fund.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference Full Board of Directors urges our state legislators to reject the Governor’s budget; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tanana Chiefs Conference will not support further cuts to the state operating budget.
Submitted by: Denakkanaaga
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