Reality Check (for Nine Figures)
Unpredictable hits like $110 million for the awful 2020 fire season and $3 million for 2019 earthquake relief Uncle Sam didn't pay for are appropriate. There's not much way to know in advance how bad fires and earthquakes will be.
But other things are wildly predictable, like another $128 million for Medicaid. We knew last year the state wouldn't be able to make the governor's cuts to Medicaid work. The colossal rate increases for Pioneers Homes also came up short of revenue. That $1 million hole surprised nobody, since almost no Pioneer Home residents had that kind of dough.
We could have skipped fully half the general fund money in the bill if the governor didn't veto the ever-lovin' reality out of the budget we passed. At least we can put back some of that necessary funding now.
The supplemental also adds about $12 million for the ferries. DOT says $7 million of that is to fill holes in the current inadequate schedule of ferry operations while the rest is to overhaul ships. That's welcome. But keep in mind where we are:
The Matanuska is on the fritz for at least a month leaving us with no boats fit to sail except the little Lituya. (I've asked the team in Ketchikan whether the Columbia could do it, but there's an unanswered safety question. I'll keep you posted.) And the strike last summer was costly. Bottom line: the amounts in the governor's supplemental wouldn't add any sailings this year.
The supplemental needs some work. What needs more work is next year's budget, to make sure we don't go through all this again. If the governor gets every nickel he asked for, state spending will be $238 million lower at the end of this fiscal year than it was before. That means actually getting Alaskans the services you need is going to stay a giant challenge.
