Local government

Alaska Justice Forum

"Anchorage Attitudes Toward Justice System" (2005).

"Collective Efficacy and Fear of Crime in the Mat-Su Borough" by Sharon Chamard (2009).

"Making the Grade? Public Evaluation of Police Performance in Anchorage" by Brad A. Myrstol (2005).

"Mat-Su Community Survey" by Shel Llee Evans (2007).

Justice Center Working Papers

"Anchorage Community Survey 2007 Survey Sampling Design: Power and Sample Size" by Shel Llee Evans (2006).

Anchorage Community Indicators

"Anchorage Community Survey: Community Satisfaction With Emergency Medical Services" (2003).

"Anchorage Community Survey: Community Satisfaction With Police Performance" (2003).

"Anchorage Community Survey: Community Satisfaction With Public Transportation" (2003).

"Anchorage Community Survey: Community Satisfaction With Schools" (2003).

"Anchorage Community Survey: Community Satisfaction With Snow Removal" (2003).

"Anchorage Community Survey: Residential Stability"(2003).

The nearest corollary in Alaska to the county form of government found in most other U.S. states are boroughs and unified municipalities. Alaska has 13 boroughs and 3 unified municipalities (created when when a borough and all cities located within it unite in a single unit of government, as has happened in Anchorage, Juneau, and Sitka). There are two classes of boroughs, both of which have mandatory powers of education, land use planning, and tax assessment and collection. Both classes have separately elected borough assemblies and school boards. The major difference between the first and second-class boroughs is in how they may acquire other powers. Additionally, there are 11 census areas in the state which have no borough government due to sparse population, but which frequently substitute as "counties" in federal census data.

• Aleutians East Borough
• Municipality of Anchorage. The Municipality of Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality created in 1975 through the unification of the governments of the City of Anchorage and the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, making Anchorage one of the largest municipalities in the nation, encompassing nearly 1,955 square miles from Eklutna in the north to Girdwood and Portage in the south. As a unified government, the Municipality of Anchorage is responsible for services provided in other areas by both a city and a borough (or, in other states, by a city and a county). This site provides a complete guide to Anchorage's local government, including the Anchorage Assembly, Office of the Mayor, and Municipal Services.
• Bristol Bay Borough
• Denali Borough
• City and Borough of Juneau. A unified home rule municipality.
• Fairbanks North Star Borough
• Haines Borough
• Kenai Peninsula Borough
• Ketchikan Gateway Borough
• Kodiak Island Borough
• Lake and Peninsula Borough
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough
• North Slope Borough
• Northwest Arctic Borough
• City and Borough of Sitka. A unified home rule municipality.
• City and Borough of Yakutat

Codes and ordinances

• Anchorage Municipal Charter, Code and Regulations
• City and Borough of Juneau Code of Ordinances
• Kenai Peninsula Borough Code of Ordinances
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough Code of Ordinances
• North Slope Borough
• City and Borough of Yakutat Code of Ordinances

Data

• U.S. Counties: Alaska. This resource from the National Association of Counties provides census and other information about Alaska's 16 boroughs (including unified city/borough governments) and 11 census areas (with no borough governments).

Alaska has 149 incorporated cities, including 12 home rule cities, 21 first-class cities and 116 second-class cities. First-class cities, generally in urban areas, have six-member councils and a separately elected mayor. Taxing authority is somewhat broader than for second-class cities and responsibilities are broader. A home rule city is a first-class city that has adopted a home rule charter, which allows the city to revise its ordinances to the extent not prohibited by law or charter. Second-class cities are communities fewer than 400 people governed by a seven-member council, one of whom serves as mayor. Taxing authority is limited. A unified municipality may be formed when a borough and all cities located within it unite in a single unit of government (as has happened in Anchorage, Juneau, and Sitka). In addition, there are 246 federally recognized tribal governments and one federal Indian reservation. (See Alaska Native tribal governments.)

• City of Bethel
• City of Dillingham
• City of Fairbanks
• City of Homer
• City of Kaktovik
• City of Kenai
• City of North Pole
• City of Petersburg
• City of Soldotna
• City of Unalaska
• City of Valdez
• City of Wrangell

Codes & ordinances

• Cordova Code of Ordinances
• Fairbanks Code of Ordinances
• Petersburg Municipal Code
• Seward City Code
• Soldotna Code of Ordinances
• Wasilla Municipal Code

Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development

Provides training, technical assistance, and financial support to Alaska communities in the form of local government assistance, community development, and energy development.

• Alaska Community Database. Community profiles for each community in Alaska provide a one-page summary of information about location, geography, climate, history, and facts about residents and community facilities and utilities; detailed community information provides census, economic, government, and other information for each community.
• Alaska Community Directory. Current information on community officials and contacts.
• Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs
• Local Government Online (LOGON). A guide to the functions of local government in Alaska.