Earlier this month, the Legislature signed off on the state operating and capital budgets, and the trickle down to the Kenai Peninsula will be significant.
The capital budget, which awaits the governor's signature and could be the subject of her veto, includes more than $120 million for peninsula projects everything from roads to hospital equipment to a columbarium for the cemetery in Kasilof.
Legislators also included municipal revenue sharing and help with retirement system costs, giving local governments some flexibility in their budgets for the coming year.
We needed this.
For years, our legislators have been preaching belt-tightening when it comes to the budget. Costs have outpaced revenue growth, and the cuts have hurt. Services have suffered. Jobs have been eliminated.
While we've made the most of what we have, the economy on the peninsula has been stagnant.
Finally, there's an opportunity to get back a little bit of what has been lost. The most noticeable changes just might be in our schools, which will benefit from an education package that secures steady funding for the next three years.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education has signed off on next year's budget, and while some minor revisions may be necessary, it's the first time in a long time the school district has been able to look forward to the budget process.
In years past, education funding has been tied up in politics and put off until the final days of the session. This year, with education funding taken care of early, the district avoided the sweeping layoffs that had become an annual event.
The district is even adding staff as it works to implement programmatic staffing, which will increase opportunities for students in areas such as visual and performing arts, foreign language and vocational and technical education.
While it represents a fraction of the district's vision for programmatic staffing, the increases will make a huge difference.
Of course, we shouldn't forget all the lessons learned from years of stretching dollars as far as they can go. "Sustainability" was the buzz word in Juneau during the legislative session, and local governments certainly should plan budgets with that in mind.
It would be a shame if, when oil revenue declines as production drops, we have to cut everything that's now being added back. The school district is working to avoid that problem by implementing staffing at a level it believes it can sustain. That's an action plan which other government entities, as well as private businesses, would be wise to adopt.
In the meantime, though, the bills are paid and the checkbook has been balanced. Some exciting and much-needed projects are in the works.
Let's enjoy the good times while they last.
