A. Municipal attorney. The department of the municipal attorney is responsible for providing legal services to municipal government, managing all civil litigation to which the municipality is a party, and providing judicial prosecution of misdemeanor criminal offenses in direct support of enforcement activities.
1. Reporting. Quarterly, the municipal attorney shall provide a report in the form of an AIM to the assembly, itemizing the legal and financial settlements concluded on the behalf of the municipality and those officials or employees it has indemnified, to include claims of workers' compensation and complaints made to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission.
a. The report shall set out:
i. The nature of the claim brought against the municipality, its officials, or employees;
ii. The parties with whom the settlement was reached; and
iii. The total public funds disbursed as a term of the settlement.
b. The municipal attorney may redact the name of a party in the report where disclosure would:
i. Violate the requirements of municipal, state or federal law;
ii. Violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement; or
iii. Foreseeably cause additional harm to an alleged child victim, victim of sexual assault, or similarly vulnerable complainant.
B. Office of the municipal manager. Within the office of the municipal manager and reporting to the municipal manager or designee are: the office of emergency management; health and safety; transportation inspection; and the following departments:
1. Anchorage Fire Department. The fire department is responsible for the prevention and suppression of fire, the enforcement of fire codes, the operation of the emergency medical services system, and the investigation of offenses involving fire.
2. Anchorage Police Department. The police department is responsible for enforcing the observance of all laws and ordinances, to promote and maintain order, and to protect lives and property.
3. Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility. The water and wastewater utility is responsible for providing water and sanitary sewage services. The utility is also responsible for billing and collecting special assessments.
a. The municipal manager shall have operational oversight of the utility; and
b. The mayor shall be responsible for policy decisions of the utility.
4. Anchorage Health Department. The Anchorage Health Department is responsible for protecting the public health and safety through programs in disease prevention, abatement of air, noise and water pollution, substance misuse, individual, family and community health and sanitation. The department is also responsible for providing social programs in such areas as day care, housing, community development, older persons and persons with disabilities, and safe cities.
a. Within the department there shall be an office of the chief medical officer. The chief medical officer shall be the principal clinical medical advisor to the municipality on matters of public health importance.
5. Municipal airports. This department is responsible for operating and maintaining municipal airports.
a. The municipal manager shall have operational oversight of the airport; and
b. The mayor shall be responsible for policy decisions of the airport.
6. Anchorage Hydropower Utility. The Anchorage Hydropower Utility is responsible for supplying wholesale electric service to utilities in southcentral Alaska.
a. The municipal manager shall have operational oversight of the utility; and
b. The mayor shall be responsible for policy decisions of the utility.
7. Public transportation. The department of public transportation is responsible for managing an efficient and safe public transportation system.
8. Solid waste services. Solid waste services is responsible for providing refuse collection and solid waste disposal.
a. The municipal manager shall have operational oversight of the utility; and
b. The mayor shall be responsible for policy decisions of the utility.
9. Don Young Port of Alaska. The Don Young Port of Alaska is responsible for operating and maintaining port facilities in the municipality.
a. The municipal manager shall have operational oversight of the port; and
b. The mayor shall be responsible for policy decisions of the port.
10. Community development. Within community development and reporting to the department, are the following departments:
a. Development services department. This department is responsible for administering the municipality's building plan review, building permit, and building inspections, on-site water and wastewater codes, NPDES inspections, right-of-way permitting, plan review and permitting, code abatement, maintenance of department computer systems and geographic base layers, and provide research and technical services in support of public and private development projects. This department also enforces zoning regulations, responds to zoning complaints, and issues operating permits for B&Bs, mobile home parks, and transmission towers. This department is also responsible for subdivision public improvement quality assurance.
b. Planning department. This department is responsible for comprehensive land use planning and planning for public facilities, and environmental resources. The department manages the municipality's coastal and wetlands management programs; administers, and enforces the Title
21 Land Use Code; processes applications and prepares recommendations for zoning, conditional use, variance, subdivision, and site plan reviews; and provides staff support to the planning and zoning commission, platting board, zoning board of examiners and appeals, urban design commission, and the municipal assembly. The department also provides technical, GIS mapping, geographic base layers, and website support to all of the departments headquartered in the planning and development center. The department also provides staff support to the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS).
c. Real estate. This department is responsible for management oversight of the acquisition, retention, and disposal of municipal lands and lands within the Heritage Land Bank inventory, to include reserving needed lands for future public uses. The department is also responsible for lease, planning, acquisition, management, maintenance, and disposition of real property owned or occupied by the municipality, including the utilities, and tax foreclosures of property. This department includes the following divisions: Real Estate Services and Heritage Land Bank.
11. Department of public works. This department is responsible for management oversight of public development services and includes the following departments:
a. Maintenance and operations department. This department provides year-round maintenance of all roads, drainage systems, street lights, within the Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area (ARDSA). This department is also responsible for maintenance of other service areas as outlined in Title
27. The department acts as the steward for general government facilities, vehicles, and equipment; performs construction management for new facilities, renovation, and maintenance upgrade projects; provides maintenance and custodial services, arranges for utilities, and security, and verifies payment of these accounts; acquires and maintains all general government vehicles and equipment; provides contract administration for facilities maintenance and security activities operated through outside contractors; and maintains and operates the 911 emergency dispatch system and other municipal internal radio communications systems and infrastructure.
b. Project management and engineering department. This department is responsible for capital project management, engineering, design, construction, and quality control; stormwater runoff quality management; and right-of-way acquisition.
c. Traffic engineering department. This department is responsible for planning, engineering, design, installation, operation, and maintenance of traffic signals and traffic control devices; on-and off-street parking requirements; and the duties and responsibilities assigned by Title
9 and Title
21.
12. Parks and Recreation Department. The parks and recreation department is responsible for preserving and enhancing the quality of life for present and future generations by providing recreational programs and maximizing the use of trails, parks, and recreational facilities in the Anchorage Bowl, Eagle River-Chugiak, and Girdwood area. This department includes the following division:
a. Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.
13. Anchorage Library Department. The library department's mission is to provide information through library materials and staff, offer educational programs for residents from birth to adult, provide equitable access to technology with computers and the internet for personal use and for government and employment resources.
C. Chief administrative officer. The office shall be administered by a chief administrative officer who is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the assembly. The chief administrative officer serves at the pleasure of the mayor. Within the office of the chief administrative officer and reporting to the chief administrative officer are the Office of Federal Compliance, Office of Grant Development, the Innovation Team (i-Team), Risk Management, and Venues (including the Egan Center, the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, the Anchorage Golf Course, the Sullivan Sports Arena, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, and the Boeke and Dempsey Ice Arenas) and the following departments:
1. Finance. The office of the chief fiscal officer and the department of finance are responsible for the management and investment of municipal funds; sale of bonds; oversight of accounting functions and coordinating the annual audit; disbursement of payments; collection of taxes, fees, fines and other revenues; and determination of property values. This department includes the following divisions: controller, property appraisal, public finance and investments, and treasury.
2. Purchasing. The department of purchasing has two functions. The first function is purchasing and includes purchasing supplies, services, and construction according to Title
7 and other applicable code provisions. The department is also responsible for the overall programming of municipal contracting services and for outsourcing and privatization. The other function is contracting and includes contract preparation, negotiation, consolidation, and contract consolidation. This department is also responsible for personal property inventory and disposition of surplus personal property.
3. Information technology department. This department is responsible for all functions required for the administration and application of information systems technology for the municipality, strategic long-range systems planning, municipal-wide systems standards and procedures, acquisitions of computer equipment and related products and services, strategic direction for dissemination of computer and data communication systems and application processing, development and annual testing of a business continuity plan in case of disaster affecting technology infrastructure of the municipality, and technical support and computer operation services for centralized municipal-wide and selected distributed data centers. This department includes the following divisions: reprographics, records management, and courier services. The chief technology officer shall report annually to the assembly on its systems planning, changes to standards and procedures, and business continuity plan testing, and may provide the annual report in executive session.
4. Human resources. The department of human resources is responsible for establishing and maintaining a comprehensive personnel services program for all municipal employees, including labor relations services, labor negotiations, labor contract administration, recruitment and certification of employees, administration, and maintenance of classification and comprehensive benefit plans, training programs for employees, and organizational and career development. This department includes the payroll division.
5. Office of Federal Compliance. The Office of Federal Compliance Office is tasked with managing all aspects of the Municipal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, managing the Municipal Emerging Small Business Enterprise Program, and ensuring compliance with federal civil rights regulations, including federal reporting requirements. The Office of Federal Compliance shall act as the federal Title VI Liaison and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Liaison Officer. The Office of Federal Compliance Officer shall have direct and independent access to the mayor and will provide a status update to the assembly and the mayor by a memorandum annually.
D. Office of management and budget. The office of management and budget is responsible for fiscal and operational planning, monitoring compliance with municipal budget policies and standards, management analysis, budgeting, and program analysis, preparing and managing the municipal budget, and coordinating state and federal grant assistance.
E. All municipal officials heading departments, divisions, utilities, or agencies listed in this section shall take the oath of office pursuant to section 1.35.010G.
F. In addition to their other functions and responsibilities, it is a function and responsibility of each department listed in this section to reasonably provide customary and necessary municipal resources and support to the assembly and legislative branch departments, to enable the assembly and legislative branch departments to fulfill their functions and responsibilities.
(AO No. 21-76; AO No. 59-76; AO No. 283-76; AO No. 77-359; AO No. 78-82; AO No. 78-113; AO No. 78-121; AO No. 79-27; AO No. 80-5; AO No. 82-49; AO No. 83-159; AO No. 85-8; AO No. 86-204; AO No. 88-47(S); AO No. 88-82; AO No. 89-10; AO No. 89-18; AO No. 89-39; AO No. 90-15(S); AO No. 91-173(S); AO No. 92-79; AO No. 92-148; AO No. 94-135(S), § 8, 7-12-1994; AO No. 95-141, § 1, 7-11-1995; AO No. 96-47, § 2, 3-5-1996; AO No. 98-115(S), § 3, 7-1-1998; AO No. 2003-109, § 6, 9-9-2003; AO No. 2004-132, § 2, 10-12-2004; AO No. 2004-136, § 2, 12-7-2004; AO No. 2005-142, § 2, 10-25-2005; AO No. 2008-90(S), § 2, 1-1-2009; AO No. 2009-21, § 2, 2-24-2009; AO No. 2009-101, § 6, 8-25-2009; AO No. 2010-64, § 2, 9-28-2010; AO No. 2010-93, § 2, 1-11-2011; AO No. 2011-40, § 1, 3-29-2011; AO No. 2011-25, § 2, 5-24-2011; AO No. 2012-106, § 3, 11-13-2012; AO No. 2013-34, § 3, 2-26-2013; AO No. 2015-112(S), § 5, 1-1-2016; AO No. 2017-122(S), § 4, 10-24-2017; AO No. 2018-24, § 3, 4-10-2018; AO No. 2018-108(S), § 3, 12-31-2018; AO No. 2018-118, § 2, 1-1-2019; AO No. 2019-42, § 2, 4-23-2019; AO No. 2019-133, § 1, 11-5-2019; AO No. 2020-23, § 2, 3-10-2020; AO No. 2020-24, § 1, 3-10-2020; AO No. 2020-79(S), § 2, 8-26-2020; AO No. 2020-109, § 2, 10-13-2020; AO No. 2020-121, § 2, 1-1-2021; AO No. 2021-113(S), § 3, 11-10-2021; AO No. 2021-114, § 2, 1-31-2022; AO No. 2022-40(S), § 3, 3-22-2022; AO No. 2023-38(S), § 2, 4-18-2023; AO No. 2023-61(S), § 1, 5-23-2023; AO No. 2023-111(S), § 2, 11-7-2023; AO No. 2023-81, § 2, 1-9-2024; AO No. 2024-28, § 1, 3-27-2024; AO No. 2024-110(S), §§ 4, 7, 8, 11-26-2024; AO No. 2025-57, § 1, 5-6-2025; AO No. 2025-110, § 3, 1-1-2026)