Walker releases FY 2016 budget

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has released the fiscal year 2016 budget given to him by outgoing Gov. Sean Parnell.

“As part of our commitment to having an open and transparent government, we are releasing the Parnell administration’s Work-In-Progress budget,” Walker said in a Dec. 5 statement, “We appreciate the effort that the previous administration put in to giving us a starting point.”

The documents associated with the Parnell Work-In-Progress budget can be found at the following link:

https://omb.alaska.gov/html/budget-report/fy-2016-budget/parnell-work-in-progress.html

The governor’s office said that to meet the Dec. 15 statutory deadline for budget submittal, Walker will submit the Parnell operating budget plan, but without endorsement.

The Walker team is currently working on the budget, and will take into account recommendations by the transition team.

“We will not have as many capital projects on December 15 as the outgoing administration has in its proposal,” said Office of Management and Budget Director Pat Pitney. “But we anticipate changes in the amendment process. We want to carefully evaluate all capital expenditures.”

The governor’s office said the new administration will continue to refine its budget proposal after the Dec. 15 deadline.

“The new budget, fully endorsed by Governor Walker, will be submitted in advance of the February 18 amended budget deadline,” Pitney said. “We respect and desire full legislative deliberation. We’re working to get our budget to legislators as early as possible,” Pitney said.

- Petroleum News