Wasilla, Alaska: Small Town Faces Big Town Media
Sarah Palin’s Place in National Spotlight Impacts Hometown Budget
Sep 9, 2008 Rosemary E. Bachelor
The city has been very busy taking calls from dozens of media groups and individuals since the announcement of Governor Sarah Palin's selection by presidential candidate Sen. John McCain as his running mate for the position of U. S. vice president.
“We would like to answer all questions, requests for information, and requests for interviews, but since we are a fiscally responsible community, we have implemented guidelines to ensure we stay within our budget while being responsive to public requests,” the town website reports.
Budget Didn’t Foresee Present Expenditures
Examples: 1) The city is not returning long distance phone calls because it did not budget for the volume of long distance calls being received. 2) If staff has to be hired to fill information requests, the person requesting information will be quoted a price via email.
This small city thrust into the global eye is, admirably, trying to make the best of a budget-busting situation in an accommodating way. The city’s website has mounted a question/answer format to field the most obvious inquiries aimed in its direction by those who have questions relating to former mayor Sarah Palin, the newest star on the political horizon.
Available Documents
The town wants to stay within its budget as it meets requests. So far it is making the following documents available on its website:
- Certified Annual Reports, FY 1994 to FY 2005
- Election Results - 1992, 1995, 1996, & 1999 --Sarah Palin was first elected to a seat on the Wasilla City Council in October of 1992 and reelected in 1995. In 1996, she ran for and won the Office of Mayor and was reelected in 1999. She concluded her public service as Mayor in 2002 and was unable to run again due to term limits. She was: City Council Member, Seat E, Term October 1992 - October 1995 (First Term); City Council Member, Seat E, Term October 1995 - October 1998 (Second Term). Sarah Palin only completed one-year of this term before she was elected Mayor.
- Operating & Capital Budgets - 1999 to 2009
- Property Tax Rates
- Reconsideration Requests of Library Materials
- Tax Revenues
- Duties of the Mayor of Wasilla
City Pledges to Answer FAQs
The town has an excellent informative website and says it will continue its effort to post answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding documents pertaining to Sarah Palin’s term as mayor.
There is a companion article about books (not) banned from the Wasilla library. It relates to an online story about Palin trying to ban books while she was mayor.
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