Rep. feels it is inappropriate for AHFC to use public funds, employees on event
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 29, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Rep. Lynn Gattis, R-Wasilla, today voiced her disappointment over the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) hosting a charity golf tournament in the midst of massive budget deficits.
“While AHFC’s intent was laudable, the event is symptomatic of a concerning trend within Alaska’s public corporations – forgetting that they operate with public dollars,” said Gattis. “We, the Legislature, entrusted them with a greater level of discretion in order to operate more efficiently and effectively in their sectors. Especially in this time of tight budgets, it is the responsibility of every state agency to take seriously their statutory purpose, and to exercise restraint in all activities which go beyond.”
The FY16 operating budget passed by the legislature cuts nearly $800 million from the prior year budget while still providing funding for essential government functions like education, public safety and infrastructure.
“Organizing charity events is not the proper function of state government,” said Gattis. “It would behoove AHFC to ask themselves ‘could private industry fill this role?’ when allocating valuable staff time and resources to activities outside their mission.”
The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s mission is to provide safe, quality, affordable housing to Alaskans. They have an annual operating budget in excess of $90 million and in successful years are able to return a dividend to the state.
