The Petersburg Borough is sending a letter to Alaska’s congressional delegation expressing concern over proposed federal funding cuts. That’s after the borough assembly voted in favor of the move at a meeting on March 3.
Liz Cabrera is Petersburg’s economic director, but she said she was speaking for herself when urging the assembly to approve the letter. She said programs and organizations in Petersburg could be negatively impacted by the proposed funding cuts.
“Almost none of them are 100% reliant on federal funding, but everything has that woven towards it,” she said. “The challenge would be, how do we make that up? And in a lot of cases, there’s no mechanism for us to make that up.”
The letter explains the impact the funding cuts could have on services in Petersburg, saying “Indiscriminate and across the board reductions to federal programs have real life consequences for our residents.”
The borough’s letter lists many ways that funding cuts could impact the community. It cites potential cuts to Medicaid and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that could impact residents of Petersburg’s Mountain View Manor Elderly Housing and Assisted Living. Those residents rely on federal subsidies. Federal cuts could mean the seniors and community members who are disabled would no longer have a place to live.
The letter mentions 10 U.S. Forest Service workers in Petersburg who were fired last month as part of a nationwide reduction in federal workers.
And it mentions several infrastructure projects that are on hold in Petersburg after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office. The order, Unleashing American Energy, froze funds for all projects paid for through two laws Congress passed during the Biden administration, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Assembly member Rob Schwartz was one of several assembly members who voiced concerns about the impacts federal funding cuts could have on the town.
“I’m completely and utterly in favor of a full and extensive audit of our federal bureaucracy,” he said. “However, I disagree with the way that it’s being done. I’ll be voting in favor of the letter.”
Schwartz said he was concerned about impacts to the Petersburg Medical Center, which gets federal payments for services through programs like Medicaid and Medicare. That could increase the costs of services for all residents, and reduce the amount of services the hospital offers.
Assembly member Jeigh Stanton Gregor said he feels it’s his duty as an elected official to let the Alaska delegation know the local impacts of federal funding cuts.
“Frankly, it doesn’t feel like enough,” he said. “It definitely feels futile at times, because I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other municipalities expressing various degrees of concern [about] how different decisions are being made for them, but it’s what we have to do.”
Assembly members voted unanimously to send the letter to the Alaska Congressional Delegation – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Representative Nick Begich. They voted to update the letter to reflect recent budget concerns, and to add a list of all sources of federal funding Petersburg receives.
Several assembly members said they hope to continue sending letters to Alaska’s congressional delegation as events unfold.
