Anchorage Assembly members are looking at a change to municipal code that would reduce the amount of public reporting the Municipal attorney’s office provides.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Anchorage Assembly members are looking at a change to municipal code that would reduce the amount of public reporting the Municipal attorney’s office provides.
The legislation was on the agenda for Wednesday’s special meeting, one of the last before the current Assembly adjourns and new members take their place on the dais. Since 2023, the Assembly has received quarterly reports from the Municipal attorney’s office of all municipal settlements and indemnifications, in large part due to a high number of legal claims brought against the municipality during the previous Mayoral administration.the ordinance that “The Municipal attorney has other means by which it keeps the Assembly informed about the settlements and indemnifications.
” As the Assembly prepares to take up the discussion, they see value both keeping the report or eliminating it.
“I have some questions that remain unanswered in my mind,” said Assembly Member Zac Johnson ahead of Wednesday’s special assembly meeting. “Certainly, I think, as a general principle, more transparency is better. ” The municipal attorney’s office makes the case that other communication methods are “more protective” than the current practice. Johnson recognized that argument has some validity.
“We also need to recognize that, or at least be aware of, the operational burdens that some of these requirements put on departments,” Johnson said. “And then with that, it is fair to consider that by publishing that information do we take on some risks of more people, you know, more litigation against the city, right?
”The current Assembly is wrapping up following the recent April election, meaning this ordinance could carry on to a new Assembly if a vote is not taken at the regular meeting on April 28.
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