Performance Details

Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development - Community & Regional Affairs

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Mission

Promote strong communities and healthy economies.

Core Services

• Local Government Assistance - Training and technical assistance to develop and maintain local capacities for administering essential government services
• Rural Utility Business Advisor (RUBA) - Increase the managerial and financial capacities of rural water and wastewater utilities
• Land Management Assistance - Assist and train communities on regional and local basis to address and resolve land and planning issues
• Financial Assistance - Administer multiple grant and funding distribution programs
• Information Resources - Collect, analyze and publish local government and economic development information
• Local Boundary Commission staff - Prepare and distribute information and reports on incorporation, dissolution, annexation, or consolidation
• State Assessor - Technical assistance to municipal assessors on property value assessments to promote equity in the distribution of education funding and other shared revenue programs
• Serve Alaska - Provide National Service and volunteerism opportunities within Alaska

Mission Results	Core Services
A: Local governments provide essential services and operate in a sustainable manner.  Details > TARGET #1: Five percent increase per year in Best Practices scores for rural utilities in the financial and managerial categories. TARGET #2: Reduce the number of communities (public entities) that are noncompliant with management sustainability indicators by five percent each year. TARGET #3: 100 percent of municipal governments provide essential public services (i.e. elections, legal, health, financial/contracting, fuel).	A1: Local Government Assistance - Training and technical assistance to develop and maintain local capacities for administering essential government services  Details > TARGET #1: The number of interventions required by staff to prevent disruptions of essential public services is reduced each year. A2: Rural Utility Business Advisor (RUBA) - Increase the managerial and financial capacities of rural water and wastewater utilities  Details > TARGET #1: Increase the number of users trained on the Utility Management training courses. A3: Land Management Assistance - Assist and train communities on regional and local basis to address and resolve land and planning issues  Details > TARGET #1: Provide appropriate site control for all identified uses of Municipal Lands Trust land. A4: Financial Assistance - Administer multiple grant and funding distribution programs  Details > TARGET #1: Percentage of grant appropriations fully expended within the award period. TARGET #2: All grantees are notified of funding appropriation within 30 days of capital bill being signed into law. A5: Information Resources - Collect, analyze and publish local government and economic development information  Details > TARGET #1: 75% of entities compliant with all managerial capacity indicators in communities with a population base of less than 2,500. A6: Local Boundary Commission staff - Prepare and distribute information and reports on incorporation, dissolution, annexation, or consolidation  Details > TARGET #1: All required reports are produced within regulatory deadlines. TARGET #2: Local Boundary Commission staff determines that all submitted petitions have met the statutory and regulatory requirements A7: State Assessor - Technical assistance to municipal assessors on property value assessments to promote equity in the distribution of education funding and other shared revenue programs  Details > TARGET #1: All statutorily required determinations completed. TARGET #2: 100 percent of municipalities respond to Tax and Debt Survey.
Mission Results	Core Services
B: Services and volunteerism in Alaska exceeds the national average ranking (among the 50 States)  Details >	B1: Serve Alaska - Provide National Service and volunteerism opportunities within Alaska  Details > TARGET #1: The number of beneficiaries being served by AmeriCorps members and recruited volunteers will increase annually. TARGET #2: The number of volunteers recruited by AmeriCorps members in Alaska will increase annually.

Performance Detail

Target #1: Five percent increase per year in Best Practices scores for rural utilities in the financial and managerial categories. Methodology: In FY2020, new methodology and a new calculation base were adopted. FY2015-FY2019 are based on rural utilities' achievement on Yes/No scale. FY2020 is the average Community Best Practice Score for participating Alaskan communities. Analysis of results and challenges: The Best Practices assessment provides a numerical score of financial and managerial capacity used to prioritize rural utilities for construction funding. The financial and managerial criterial scores communities based on the adoption of a realistic budget, financial reporting, timely reporting and payment of payroll taxes, workers' compensation insurance compliance, holding regular meetings, and attending utility management training. In FY2021, 194 communities participated in the program. 55 points are possible when adding the financial and managerial criteria together. The average combined score in July 2021 was 55, or 28.5% of the total potential score. DCRA will strive to increase this average by 5% each year. Challenges for utilities in receiving and maintaining high management scores include increased operation costs with stagnant or declining revenues, staff turnover, and the COVID-19 health emergency. Additionally, the Rural Utility Business Advisor program is instituting strict adherence to scoring criteria ensuring fairness and consistency in scoring. This has led to some correction of scores, some of which skewed downward, but are anticipated to pick back up in the coming year.

Target #2: Reduce the number of communities (public entities) that are noncompliant with management sustainability indicators by five percent each year. Methodology: Data from Community and Regional Affairs internal portal of Community Database On-line. Change in entities monitored beginning in FY2020. Analysis of results and challenges: Public services are critical to the health and long-term viability of communities. A local government's ability to provide adequate and sustainable public services can be accurately predicted by examining essential management indicators. DCRA gathers public entity data used by staff to conduct service assessments necessary to understand the existing level of governance and to provide any assistance necessary to them. In FY2009, the division began measuring compliance of a set number of entities using a standardized set of indicators. These indicators and compliance standards are: 1. Workers' Compensation policy - If an entity has an active policy or not. 2. Municipal elections - If the required election was properly held and certified. 3. Liens - If liens or judgments are filed against the entity. 4. Fuel Loans - If an entity borrowed loans for purchase of fuel and is current on its payment; and 5. Financial Documents (budgets, audits/certified financial statements) - if an entity has completed and filed these documents. DCRA has thoroughly reviewed the indicators used in previous performance metrics and has determined that two of the seven indicators no longer prove to be a reliable metric for community success and are no longer needed as a condition for construction grant funding. These two indicators include Financial Audits and PERS Debt. Financial Audits, which are tracked by the Department of Administration, ensure that any required state or federal audits have been completed and filed. In recent years, less than 6% of entities tracked have been noncompliant in this metric. Further, DCRA’s Financial Assistance service ensures that all audits are completed, if applicable for certain state or federal grants. The successful percentage of grant appropriations fully extended will include compliant entities, proof that metric 4A. Target 1 is a better indicator for this particular metric. PERS Debt, which is also tracked by the Department of Administration, determines if an entity is current on their PERS payments. As with Financial Audits, less than 15% of entities tracked have been noncompliant in this metric in recent years. This metric does not hinder the receipt of grants, and the metric of liens compliancy is a much stronger indicator of management sustainability. DCRA will no longer track these metrics. The compliance rate of the 352 entities for the five remaining indicators for FY2021 is 80.9%. Of the five indicators, the highest percentage of noncompliance was found within the financial documents metric with 13.3% non-compliant. This metric indicates whether a community is filing their budgets and audits in a timely manner, which can affect their Community Assistance Payments. Of the 67 non-compliant entities, one entity was noncompliant in three different metrics; nine were noncompliant in two metrics; and the remaining 57 were noncompliant in one metric.

Target #3: 100 percent of municipal governments provide essential public services (i.e. elections, legal, health, financial/contracting, fuel). Methodology: Data from eGrants On-line Database. Analysis of results and challenges: DCRA attempts to identify and help all local governments requiring assistance to meet the minimum criteria for becoming a city, e.g. holding required public meetings and elections, providing adequate financial disclosure of public finances, and codifying municipal ordinances. Some municipalities struggle with providing these basic public services and lack the administrative capacity to manage the finances of the city. However, with DCRA's assistance, most cities ultimately meet these minimum criteria. Despite the assistance available through DCRA, some municipalities are unable to meet the basic requirements to sustain a city. The most consistent means of assessing a local government's provision of essential public services is by tracking which communities have met the requirements for receiving Community Assistance Payments (CAP) in accordance with AS 29.60.850-860; 3 AAC 180.010-900. In order to receive CAP payment, each municipality must submit to DCRA a budget, audit or certified financial statement, and a tax report if applicable, as well as certain application materials. Management practices such as holding public meetings and elections, adequate public finances, and municipal codification are arguably necessary in order to complete the CAP payment requirements, thus CAP compliance can be used as a barometer for providing essential public services. The COVID-19 public health emergency led to a delay in community submittal of paperwork. Some communities did stop meeting the minimum criteria for a period of time during the pandemic but are meeting again, and in any case with support continued municipal operations as needed. A great improvement has been seen in FY2021 compared to FY2020 and local governments have rebounded to closer to pre-pandemic numbers. Payments for CAP have been released to 99.2% of eligible municipalities (all but 14 of 164 communities).

Target #1: The number of interventions required by staff to prevent disruptions of essential public services is reduced each year. Methodology: Data from the Rural Utility Advisor (RUBA) Grant Annual Progress Report and Staff Travel and Activity Report System (STARS). Analysis of results and challenges: Continuous monitoring and proactive interactions with Alaskan communities provides DCRA staff with an opportunity to intercede and avert a possible community crisis before it happens. There were 96 Interventions in FY2021, including providing 42 fuel loans to communities ineligible for bank loans and coordination of fuel deliveries to avoid critical shortages; assistance with delinquent Power Cost Equalization (PCE) reports to facilitate payments before they expire; assistance meeting minimum requirements to receive Community Assistance Program and Payment in Lieu of Taxes payments; assistance with QuickBooks accounting issues, resolving Internal Revenue Service matters; and assistance with utility management to avoid loss of essential public sanitation services.

Target #1: Increase the number of users trained on the Utility Management training courses. Methodology: Data from Rural Utility Business Advisor (RUBA) Grant Annual Progress Report. Analysis of results and challenges: Eight 32-hour utility management courses were developed to build local capacity for operations and maintenance of local infrastructure. These courses are often presented in conjunction with regional health corporations and other regional entities. The COVID-19 health crisis resulted in the cancellation of most in-person courses in FY2020 and FY2021. However, in FY2021 four courses were converted to an online format allowing utility management managers, elected officials, and staff to engage remotely. Four utility QuickBooks classes were taught online, for a total of 48 participants representing 31 communities around the state. A total of 150 students were taught in FY2021 through online and in-person trainings.

Target #1: Provide appropriate site control for all identified uses of Municipal Lands Trust land. Methodology: Data from Municipal Lands Trustee (MLT) Disposition of Lands database. Analysis of results and challenges: The Municipal Lands Trustee (MLT) Program was created in 1975 to carry out Section 14(c)(3) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which requires every village corporation to reconvey title to "the remaining improved land on which the Native village is located, and as much additional land as is necessary for community expansion, and appropriate rights-of-way for public use, and land for other foreseeable community needs." These lands are transferred to the appropriate municipal corporation (a first- or second-class city) where one exists, or otherwise to the "State in trust for any municipal corporation established in the Native village in the future." Land settlements have been completed for 39 of the 93 communities served by the program, with approximately 11,500 acres currently held in trust by the state. Lands held in trust are used for airports, landfills, schools, other community development or private commercial purposes, as well as future community expansion. While the COVID-19 pandemic continued to limit the opportunity for MLT staff to conduct site visits throughout FY2021, community leaders and other State agencies coordinated with the MLT program to secure site control for existing improvements and for future projects. MLT staff is able to identify those improvements and future projects to implement necessary site control by utilizing the most recent aerial photography available for each community, and with cooperation of other State, Federal or other non-government organizations. Despite the challenges presented by the transition to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, MLT staff were able to continue the success of the prior fiscal year to slightly increasing the percentage of known improvements that now have site control. Those improvements included a landfill, a residential duplex, water treatment plant, and access to the surface estate for other development purposes. Additionally, the MLT Trustee approved the conveyance of 10 residential lots in two communities, some of which were preference right applicants with existing homes constructed on Trust land. Locating and identifying other public, commercial and residential improvements on Trust land and securing the necessary site control continues to be the MLT program priority.

Target #1: Percentage of grant appropriations fully expended within the award period. Methodology: Data from eGrants On-line database. Analysis of results and challenges: Grant administrators have a primary responsibility to assure grant agreements are prepared within statutory deadlines. Once a grantee is under agreement, the grant administrators have a responsibility to work closely with each of them to provide technical assistance and training, so they are able to successfully complete their project within the award period. A review of the grants awarded for the five-year grant period ending in FY2021 indicated that 75% of grants awarded were successfully completed in that period.

Target #2: All grantees are notified of funding appropriation within 30 days of capital bill being signed into law. Methodology: Data from eGrants On-line Database. Analysis of results and challenges: Statutes authorizing the majority of the funding awarded by the Division require notification of the grantee within a 45- or 60-day period. It is the goal of the Division to notify all recipients within 30 days of the effective date of the funding. This goal applies to grants as well as allocations made through the Community Assistance Program (CAP, formerly Community Revenue Sharing), Payment In Lieu of Taxes, Shared Business Tax allocations. For FY2021, 100% of notifications were made within the 30-day period.

Target #1: 75% of entities compliant with all managerial capacity indicators in communities with a population base of less than 2,500. Methodology: Data from Community and Regional Affairs internal portal of Community Database On-line. Data from FY2010-2020 used seven indicators to measure performance. Data as of FY2021 and onward uses five indicators to measure performance. Analysis of results and challenges: The Community Status Report (CSR) identifies possible managerial problems and provides selected information about a community's managerial capacity. The indicators measured address public performance issues and reveal a community's financial management results as displayed in the respective fiscal years' operating revenues and operating expenditures. As per last year’s recommendation, DCRA has thoroughly reviewed the indicators used in previous performance metrics and has determined that two of the seven indicators no longer prove to be a reliable metric for community success and are no longer needed as a condition for construction grant funding. These two indicators include Financial Audits and PERS Debt. Therefore, for FY2021 data collected and analyzed include: financial records; elections (required by statute); liens; workers' compensation; and fuel loans per entity. Using the five new indicators, the overall performance of the entities in 238 communities had a compliance rate of 83.1% in FY2021.

Target #1: All required reports are produced within regulatory deadlines. Methodology: Data from Local Boundary Commission (LBC) internal database. Analysis of results and challenges: Statutory requirements are met on every petition. The number of required reports produced by the Local Boundary Commission (LBC) or its staff can vary from year to year, depending on how many petitions are submitted. The LBC staff has many obligations such as assisting the public and communities with questions, administrative functions, coordinating and scheduling LBC meetings, public records requests, quarterly ethics reports, monthly reports to the Commissioners, and traveling to communities. One city annexation petition was accepted for filing in FY2020, requiring a preliminary and final report. In FY2021 staff completed the annual report, one informal technical review, and received no new petitions.

Target #2: Local Boundary Commission staff determines that all submitted petitions have met the statutory and regulatory requirements Methodology: Data from Local Boundary Commission (LBC) internal database. Analysis of results and challenges: The Local Boundary Commission (LBC) was created in the Constitution of the State of Alaska to ensure that arguments for and against proposals to create or alter municipal governments are analyzed objectively and take area-wide and state-wide needs into consideration. LBC staff must respond to petitions when and as submitted. While several petitions may arrive in a year's time, not all will meet the statutory and regulatory requirements to move forward to consideration by the LBC. In FY2021, the Local Boundary Commission received no new petitions. However, the petition submitted in FY2020 was the subject of multiple hearings and Commission meetings. LBC staff assisted several communities with technical questions regarding current boundaries or potential boundary changes.

Target #1: All statutorily required determinations completed. Methodology: Annual Alaska Taxable Report - Municipal Taxation Full Value Determination. Analysis of results and challenges: Full value equalization must occur for each city or borough that is a school district or that levies real property taxes. There are currently 34 municipalities that that are school districts with 1 additional municipality (Whittier) that levies a property tax but is not a school district. The Office of the State Assessor also visits these communities to provide training to staff, Boards of Equalization, or when other technical needs arise. The details of each city and borough's tax policies and assessment procedure vary widely making the on-site audits and assistance unique to each municipality. Data for prior fiscal years was corrected to represent the valid statutory requirement. These determinations require on-site visits to make adequate, defendable determinations. If these values are not correct, inequities in funding distribution will occur. The Office of the State Assessor also defends Full Value Determinations when and if appeals of the Full Value Determination occur.

Target #2: 100 percent of municipalities respond to Tax and Debt Survey. Methodology: Data from Office of State Assessor (OSA) Scheduler. FY2016 data was a generalized statewide audit of property tax systems. Analysis of results and challenges: Currently there are 165 organized cities and boroughs in the state. The Office of the State Assessor (OSA) attempts to reach each one with a survey to collect information for compiling the Alaska Taxable, a roughly 50-page document that summarizes the state of local taxation. Many cities change contact information or leadership from year to year, so it can be difficult to reach and then educate each one as to what is expected in the surveys. 2020 was a particularly challenging year with many city administrators working from home or otherwise unreachable.

Target #1: The number of beneficiaries being served by AmeriCorps members and recruited volunteers will increase annually. Methodology: Data prior to 2011 was based on a spreadsheet format that was not consistent between programs but in 2012 programs began using a consistent measurement entry system of OnCorps. The program cycle varies but is generally adjacent to the Calendar Year. Analysis of results and challenges: Serve Alaska is responsible for recruitment and placement of volunteers in programs that receive assistance under the national service laws and ensure outreach to diverse community-based agencies that serve underrepresented populations. Starting in 2012, Serve Alaska contracted with a web-based reporting system called OnCorps that counted overall attendees instead of individual beneficiaries. This system was specifically designed to comply with Federal AmeriCorps programmatic and fiscal management. The system tracks and calculates required Federal and Alaskan demographics including the number Alaskan beneficiaries served. The significant decrease in beneficiaries served in 2016 is due to a loss of three programs – Ninestar’s long term program ended, Rural Cap consolidated two programs into one, and the Southeast Alaska Guidance Association lost funding). Over the 2014-2016 timeframe, Serve Alaska's funded portfolio decreased by over half.

Target #2: The number of volunteers recruited by AmeriCorps members in Alaska will increase annually. Methodology: The data from 2012 is collected from OnCorps Reports. Prior years from program self reporting. The program cycle varies and generally a year behind. There were fewer programs in 2012-2013 year that previously reported. Analysis of results and challenges: Through outreach efforts and coordination with the Corporation for National and Community Service, Serve Alaska helps Alaskan secure valuable work skills and experience while providing additional benefits of responsible citizenship and community service. The commission has helped to recruit, train, and deploy 2,500 volunteers across Alaska to address needs in education, homeland security, the environmental arena and public safety. In 2014 and 2015, two AmeriCorps programs chose not to reapply for funding, resulting in the significant reduction of the number of members serving the state. In 2016-2017, Serve Alaska brought on four new programs which has increased the number of AmeriCorps members serving and continues to rise as Serve Alaska partners more closely with the Corporation for National and Community Service and identifies new partners. In 2020, numbers dropped due to the limited opportunities for service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current as of November 22, 2021