Annual Performance Report 

Bronson Administration

Report card on Anchorage mayoral performance, third year of three-year term. How Mayor Bronson and his team have performed across various issue areas.

Overview

Overall Performance: F

Mayor Bronson receives a failing grade in the third year of his term, down from a D grade in year two. Anchorage is struggling in multiple sectors, featuring in multiple national news stories for crises ranging from homelessness to snow plowing. Bronson has made solving homelessness a top priority for his administration, but the homelessness problem has worsened, with Bronson unable to implement a response plan. In October, Bronson promised Anchorage would be ready for winter snow following record setting school closures last year, but snow plowing issues have been worse this winter with more school closures.

These problems are exacerbated by ongoing scandals, firings and resignations on the Bronson team. High vacancy rates across city departments are reducing confidence in city preparedness while increasing costs due to outsourcing and consultants. Most concerningly, Bronson is unable to shake a pattern of unethical behavior and problematic advisers. The failing grade for year three is based on problems that are getting worse, with a team and city staff that are increasingly unable to change course. 

Overall Performance: F

Budget & spending

Grade: Incomplete

  • Mayor Bronson has still not closed the city’s financial books for FY-2022. This means that Bronson published his 2024 budget in October without being able to determine how much money the city has on hand. For the past year, the city has been operating without knowing how much revenue and expenses carried over into 2023, and is now in jeopardy of losing a $22 million reimbursement from the state. FY-2022 books are supposed to be closed before the reconciliation process can begin on FY-23, but the city’s budget director was recently moved to a different department and there have been no further status updates.

  • “‘We are a little bit behind where we want to be on our financials because of the staff that we lost,’ [the city’s chief fiscal officer] said...” — Alaska Public Media, 9/19/2023

Hiring & Management

Grade: D

  • High exit rate of city employees with high vacancy rates across multiple departments: ¹

    • Office of Management & Budget: 50% vacancy rate 

    • Maintenance & Operations: 25% vacancy rate 

    • Parks & Recreation: 57% vacancy rate 

    • 106 vacant police dept. positions 

  • City is now paying consultants and contractors to cover vacant positions, in some cases at double or triple the cost per employee. 

  • City facing multiple law suits from former city employees for HR and management issues in the Mayor’s office. ²

Ethics & transparency

Grade: F

  • Mayor Bronson is currently facing multiple allegations of giving city contracts to close associates and campaign donors. ³

  • Mayor’s team rehired consultant Larry Baker after a series of controversial allegations of illegal and unethical behavior, while another Bronson appointee was charged with fraudulently diverting $1.6 million in COVID Relief funds for personal use. ⁴

  • Mayor Bronson’s appointed IT Director was forced to resign after an investigation found he used his position to inappropriately collude with political campaign operatives to challenge the results of the last city election. ⁵

Schools & education

Grade: C

  • The Anchorage School District is facing a $95 million budget deficit due to reduction of state funding and the expiration of one time Federal relief funds.

  • The C grade for this section represents the fact that declining state funding is the primary cause of the significant ASD shortfall, which the Mayor does not control. However, the Mayor has taken no action to address the shortfall via the city budget or with municipal revenue. 

  • “For the second winter in a row, ASD has been put in a position where we’ve had to close schools when it’s not even snowing. And that must be really frustrating for families to grapple with... that’s where the strategic issues that we’re having as a state and as a city around snow removal are really impacting students access to learning in school.” — ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt, KTUU 11/16/23

Roads & Transportation

Grade: D

  • In October of 2023, Bronson held a press conference unveiling the city’s updated snow removal plan, stating, “if this year’s anything like last year, we are ready!” ⁶  

  • During the first snow storm of the year, Anchorage schools were closed for four straight days, while city equipment was diverted to deal with state roads, leaving many Anchorage neighborhoods unplowed. 

  • Local media have covered widespread frustration from Anchorage parents and caregivers about ongoing school closures and disruptions. APD received 460 vehicle distress calls during the first snow storm of the year, with 118 crashes and 24 crashes with injuries. ⁷

Housing & Homelessness 

Grade: F

  • Mayor Bronson’s cold weather winter shelter plan for 2023-2024 was under capacity by several hundred beds, coinciding with record setting death rates among the homeless. The homelessness crisis in Anchorage is now attracting national media coverage, with Anchorage standing out against even other major US cities. 

  • Over the summer of 2023, downtown homeless camps that the Bronson administration had previously paid to clear came back and expanded due to the absence of an alternative shelter system, resulting in reports of mental health episodes, suicide attempts, warrant service, misconduct involving a weapon, disturbance with a weapon, suspicious activity, kidnapping, and others. ⁸

  • By failing to bring new shelter capacity online, the city was unable to meet needs of its unhoused population before subzero temperatures hit, causing Bronson to declare a state of emergency in January as temperatures dipped toward -20 with many people still sleeping outside. ⁹

Crime & Policing 

Grade: C

  • In the past year, Mayor Bronson concluded contract negotiations with the Anchorage police department employees union, extending significant pay increases for police department employees.

  • The 2023 Alaska crime rate report shows that the murder rate in Alaska has increased 67% while the overall crime rate shows a slight decrease. The Anchorage crime statistics for 2023 will be updated later this spring. ¹⁰

  • “Expansion of homelessness camps into previously cleared areas downtown have correlated with increases in crime and police call outs. ‘Crime calls up at Third and Ingra homeless encampment’” — Alaska News Source, 8/31/23

Infrastructure & Construction

Grade: C

  • The city set aside millions of dollars to settle lawsuits against the Bronson Administration for construction contracts that were initiated without approval and then breached. 

  • Major infrastructure projects came online last year, including a $200 million airport cargo facility at the Anchorage Airport and the renovation of the downtown Aviator Hotel (led by former Alaska Senator Mark Begich.) ¹¹

  • Technical errors and delays by Bronson administration staff left money for facilities improvements off the 2023 bond project and jeopardized millions of dollars of federal funding and private grants for Anchorage parks. ¹²

1. Municipality of Anchorage, Management & Budget: 2024 Positions Vacant and Filled

2. Alaska Public Media, 9/6/23

3. Alaska Current, 1/22/24

4. Anchorage Daily News, 8/2/23

5. Alaska Public Media, 9/20/23

6. Alaska Public Media, 10/13/23

7. Alaska Public Media - 11/27/23

8. Alaska News Source, 9/4/23

9. Anchorage Daily News, 1/30/24

10. Alaska Public Media, 10/24/23

11. Alaska Public Media, 5/31/23

12. Anchorage Daily News 1/16/23