On Tuesday night, the Anchorage Assembly approved the LaFrance administration’s request to purchase $3.75 million in new snow-removal equipment, aiming to improve the city’s response to heavy snow dumps that have snarled streets in recent years.
The purchase — ten snow-plow pickups, a sander truck with a belly plow, a vacuum truck and three motor graders — was made possible after the LaFrance administration discovered millions of unspent dollars in the city’s equipment maintenance fund. City officials said some equipment will be deployed this winter, while others will arrive next year.
The money was found while closing the city’s 2022 financial books, which the former Bronson administration left uncompleted in a historic delay. LaFrance was critical of Bronson’s failure to close the books on the campaign trail — something he chalked up to significant turnover — warning it could be concealing big problems for the city.
At least when it comes to snow removal, it turns out it was hiding good news.