Unalaska, AK – City council met for a short meeting on Friday evening. In less than 45 minutes they discussed revenue projections for fiscal year 2010, authorized the city to issue the school bond, amended the FY09 budget and leased an area of tideland by Alaska Ship Supply for building a cold storage facility.

City Finance manager Tonya Miller explained that it's hard to predict revenue for the city because fish tax amounts vary so much from year to year. For fiscal year 2009 the budget and revenue were practically the same, but that was due to a number of large projects. City staff is projecting an increase in revenue for 2010 of about $2 million.

The city will also conduct a cost of living study for Unalaska with Northern Economics. The study will look at how cost of living here compares to other places and will be used when calculating compensation for city employees and when determining budgets. The study was included in an ordinance that approves retroactive pay for public safety employees, puts grant revenues towards re-designing the wastewater treatment plant, and other housekeeping matters.

The city also approved the first reading of an ordinance to issue a $4.5 million dollar school bond. The state will reimburse the city for 70 percent of the bond. The bids for the school repair project actually came in lower than the approved bond amount - at $2.4 million - and the extra money will be used for other projects around the school, like upgrading technology.

The meeting was held in lieu of the normal Tuesday, January 27 meeting. The meeting date was moved because of council travel.