The State of Alaska is the primary resource for Consolidation information

• The Local Boundary Commission provides guidance and assistance with the petition (application) process and requirements for consolidating local governments
• Alaska Statute 29.06.090 provides the rules for consolidation of municipalities
• Alaska Administrative Code provides Standards for Consolidation of Municipalities

Other resources include:

• 1989 Consolidation Report
• Bockhorst letter to the Kodiak City Council, March 2018
• Petitions (annexation, incorporation, detachment and consolidation) submitted by other municipalities

The Kodiak Island Borough (Borough) is a second class borough in the State of Alaska incorporated in 1963. The City of Kodiak (City), located within the Kodiak Island Borough, is a home rule city incorporated in 1940.  

Most of the Borough’s population reside within the City of Kodiak and its outskirts along the connecting road system. The remainder of the population reside in small communities, accessible by boat or plane, that are predominantly second class cities and/or Native Villages; and a few choose to live in remote wilderness areas. Most of the area’s commercial businesses are located within the City.  Both governments are co-located in the City, and in the same administrative building.

Many citizens are often confused about which government does what for whom, and perceive that there are overlapping services and duplication of costs between the two.

The possibility of consolidation has come up in the past, for example, in October 1987, local voters approved the establishment of a committee to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of consolidation. A committee was formed and their report was submitted in May 1989. In 1990, a special election by mail was held, asking if a charter commission should be formed to create a home rule charter and petition the Local Boundary Commission for consolidation.  The question was defeated.  Continued discussion ensued in the early 1990’s but eventually the Borough Assembly agreed that consolidation is a change that should be initiated by the people, not the government.

More recently, the October 4, 2016 local election included an advisory question on the ballot that asked, “Should the Kodiak Island Borough pursue the idea of consolidating the Kodiak Island Borough and City of Kodiak into a single unit of government?”  The results were in favor with 1,235 Yes and 919 No votes.

Staff consulted the 1989 report and found it to be valuable and useful but did not go far enough in describing the potential benefits and/or shortfalls of a single consolidated local government.  The report does not satisfy the public desire to know what the single government would “look like” in terms of structure, services provided, etc. and whether a consolidated government will save the average citizen money from a general cost of living perspective.

In February 2018. the Assembly passed Resolution No. FY2018-25 directing the Manager to solicit proposals for the hiring of a consultant to perform research and provide reports related to the topic of consolidation and recommending the allocation of funding necessary related to this subject in the FT2019 budget.  There were no responses to the solicitation for proposals.

In July, 2018 the Assembly passed Resolution No. FY2019-07 establishing a Consolidation Committee to research, discuss and make recommendations for the potential consolidation of the Kodiak Island Borough and City of Kodiak governments; and prepare a draft petition for consolidation.

The Consolidation Committee was formed from local resident volunteers and began meeting in September, 2019.