Unalaska, AK – The Unalaska city council took its first shot at the Fiscal Year 2012 budget this Saturday.

The five-hour meeting kicked off with a presentation about the Unalaska City School District from superintendent John Conwell, focusing on the city's high test scores and low dropout rate. UCSD expects to receive $3.78 million in state funding this year, and will be asking for $3.54 million from the city.

Many parts of the education budget hew close to last year's figures. Travel, for example, will hold at $415,000 next year. Salaries are expected to rise 3%. Still, there are some unknowns for the schools' budgets.

"When we're planning out budget each year, it's enrollment, utilities, and health insurance," says Conwell.

Conwell gave special attention to utilities, focusing on the rising cost of fuel.

Following the discussion of the school budget, the council then heard a number of presentations on different aspects of the city's operating budget.

Finance director Tonya Miller went over the budget's basics during an overview. She explained that the bulk of the city's revenue comes through the raw fish tax and through the sales tax. She also noted that revenue projections had not factored in the effects of the disaster in Japan and how it would impact the seafood industry.

She also described the major changes. Salaries of city employees are expected to rise 2.7%. Health insurance, however, could increase up to 18%, though Miller notes that the final cost could be lower. The public employee retirement system should see a 22% increase.

Among the funds showing increasing expenses and declining revenues were the wastewater, airport, and housing funds. However, despite some negative projections, Miller remained optimistic about the budget overall.

"2011's budget shows a loss, but we probably will not have a loss," says Miller.

Following Miller's presentation, a number of city officials described their goals for their departments. Hladick listed the development of the Makushin geothermal project, wastewater treatment projects, and management training among his priorities. City clerk Elizabeth Masoni discussed the importance of networking with other departments to improve grant reporting accuracy. Miller talked about the need for an increase in the city's information systems staff, as well as other technology upgrades. Sergeant Mike Holman described the value of medical screenings of inmates during his presentation on the Department of Public Safety. Nancy Peterson, director of the Department of Public Works, focused on improving the scheduling of capital projects.

During the presentations, a residential aluminum and plastic recycling program was also discussed. Department of Public Utilities Director Dan Winters says that a recycling program could reduce general waste by 0.5%. The proposed program could potentially involve Horizon Lines, which would ship recyclable waste to Seattle. The department is already working on implementation.

A presentation by Port Director Alvin Osterback provoked considerable discussion. Right now, Ports and Harbors face a $1.16 million shortfall. While ports revenue was boosted this year because of APL's reliance on the city dock following the collapse of their crane, the city will not be able to rely on this stream after this month.

Osterback laid a few options for cutting down ports expenses. Among the proposals are staff reductions, dedication of property tax, and an increase of the raw fish tax.

Council will continue its discussion of the FY2012 budget in coming meetings.