The message from last September's Permanent Fund Advisory vote was clear - "Leave my dividend alone."       I agree!

As your elected representative, you have placed your faith and confidence in me to vote on issues and budgets that affect our Island community. On a larger scale, I am one of 60 legislator's from our great state that have been entrusted by the people to make decisions for Alaska as a collective body.

The most important issue facing Alaska is and has been - our budget. The Republican majority wants to cut an additional $30 million dollars or more from the state budget for this next fiscal year. Is this wise? Should we as a state, continue to dismantle government services? What are our priorities??

Alaska needs a long-range balanced budget plan.

All of us have (at least we should have) a budget plan for our personal lives. We spend our hard-earned money on food, clothes, heat, house or rent payments, transportation, doctor's, etc ... If there is any money left over, we buy luxury items such as; TV's, VCR's, Computer's, ATV's, snow machines, movie or theatre tickets, vacations, new furniture, etc ... Quite a bit of the time we purchase these items on credit to pay for them later.

What would you do if your paycheck was reduced by over 5% each year? Would you give up your luxury items? Would you dip into your savings account? Would you sell off your vehicle? Would you get a second job? Tough choices aren't they!?!

That's exactly what Alaska has been facing for the last several years. Besides the price of oil fluctuating, the production levels of oil continue to go down every year. In 1990, the North Slope oil production was at 1.9 million barrels per day being calculated into Alaska's paycheck. Last year we only received 1.1 million barrels per day. By the year 2010, the production level is projected to be about 850,000 barrels a day. It's anybody's guess as to what the price of oil will be. Do you understand what this means?

It means less money for all communities in Alaska! Less money for education. Less money to fill the potholes in our roads. Less money to feed our hungry children. Less money to help the single mom or dad to get their child support payment. Less money to fund our police and state troopers. Less money to manage, patrol and protect our fisheries. Less money for workplace safety. The list could go on for days!!

With declining oil production, the state has been in a serious dilemma for several years. During these tough times, Alaska has made the choice to cut out some of its luxury items, along with spending a huge percentage of their savings account for the last five years.

Unfortunately, Alaska has been cutting into vital services as well. We now have fewer and fewer dollars going to our communities. Money for education and buildings has been slashed! Money for road maintenance - virtually non-existent! Programs for the needy - cut! Money for adequate public safety has been drastically reduced! Like I said before, the list goes on and on.

We can't continue to cut goods and services to the people of this state without a comprehensive budget plan. Any such plan has to include a clear revenue picture.

Alaska's savings account (the Constitutional Budget Reserve-CBR) is almost gone! What's left after that? The only other money available to us as Alaskan's is the undistributed earnings from the Permanent Fund account. Notice I did not say anything about our dividend!! Our dividend does not need to be touched!!! I repeat - our dividend does not need to be touched. Neither does the inflation proofing of the permanent fund.

So what is the answer?! We as Alaskan's can decide to use a portion of the undistributed earnings (leftover after paying our dividends and allowing for inflation proofing) from the Permanent Fund.

We can also decide on raising additional revenues by many different means. What are those means?

Do we tax ourselves? If so, what form should it take? Do we implement a statewide income tax? Do we invoke a state sales tax? How about a school tax? Proposals are on the table to increase the motor fuel tax, the marine fuel tax and the alcohol tax. How about a combination of taxes and then using some of the undistributed earnings from the Permanent Fund, if the taxes don't close the budget gap? The present gap is between $500-800 million dollars.

If we don't address the declining revenues (our paycheck from the oil companies) to the state, then Alaska's savings account (the CBR) will be gone by the year 2004. Until we solve our revenue picture, Alaska will continue in a steady decline, denying all of us of great opportunities for health and prosperity!

I am preparing a mailing that will soon go out to all registered voters in our district. I will be giving you a brief synopsis of Alaska's declining oil revenues, the state budget picture, a condensed history and intent concerning the Permanent Fund and another possible solution towards a long-range balanced budget plan. I want to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to balance Alaska's budget.

Visitors

Those folks from the district who stopped by to confer this past week were: Chris Berns, Stosh Anderson, Oliver Holm and Walter Sapp. Also in town for various meetings were Karl Short and former mayor Jerome Selby.

Remember-my door is always open!