It also appears that someone in the Dunleavy administration does not appreciate the conclusions reached by the contractor and is trying to keep the document secret, which is a violation of the public records law.
Northern Economics completed the report late last winter. Northern Economics finished its work and filed its last invoice on March 3, 2024, according to billing records released by AIDEA.
The March 3 bill for $6,724 brought the total spent on the contract to $249,870.
AIDEA, led by Executive Director Randy Ruaro is claiming that the report is a state secret and that the public has no right to see what it contains.
To be blunt, AIDEA appears to be lying about the report and claiming that it can be kept secret because Ruaro has chosen to describe it as a draft report. AIDEA spent $250,000 to hire a contractor. The contractor did its work. The report is finished.
It is a public document, contrary to the claims by Ruaro.
The public deserves to read the analysis, regardless of what it says about AIDEA.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)