PHOENIX - Alaska Gov. Bill Walker announced this week that he convened a meeting of the state's business leaders to discuss the state's fiscal future and how to reduce its multi-billion dollar budget deficit.
Walker said Tuesday that he and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott met more than 20 of Alaska's prominent business leaders, including representatives of the energy industry so crucial to the state's economy. The triple-A rated state is staring down a roughly $3.5 billion deficit gap, and Standard & Poor's assigned it a negative outlook last month as low oil prices continue to hamper its revenue.
"I wanted to assemble a number of business leaders and owners from various industries to get their input on Alaska's fiscal challenges and opportunities," Walker said. "We received some great feedback, and I look forward to continuing the conversation with this group about Alaska's future."
The group discussed ongoing spending cuts and how much to reduce from state government, according to a statement from Walker's office. The state has already shed 600 employees since December, Office of Management and Budget Director Pat Pitney told the group.
"Cuts alone won't get us there," Pitney said. "Even if we were to lay off every state employee, we would not make a significant difference in the $3.5 billion deficit. We must discuss revenue options, though there is tremendous pressure to do nothing because it's not politically expedient."
Options discussed included possibly implementing a sales or income tax, according to a release.
Alaska has neither.
The group also talked about the possibility of funding state services with earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund, an investment pool which is funded by oil royalties.
