Community Council Executive Board Resources

Here you can find links to resources on a variety of topics including leadership, meetings, committees, government, and more. Check back regularly for updates.

Connect with the Government

• Mayor's Office & Administration
  • Request a representative from the Mayor's office by filling out this form.
  • Connect with a particular department by reaching out the the Public Information Officers.
  • Sign up for the Mayor's Newsletter.
  • Reach out to Constituent Relations Director, Marie Husa at annamarie.c.husa@anchorageak.gov
  • Check the Mayor and Boards & Commissions Calendar
• Assembly
  • Email the entire assembly at assembly@anchorageak.gov
  • Find your Assembly members and their contact information here.
  • Check the Assembly Events Calendar.
  • Find the Assembly agendas.
  • Email the clerk at wwmasmc@anchorageak.gov
  • Visit the Clerk's website here.

General Resources for Running a Meeting

• Tips of Conducting a Community Council Meeting
• Meeting Resources & Facilitation Tips
• Consensus Decision Making - A style of decision making in which participants are able to arrive at a decision through discussion where all participants' viewpoints are considered, the final decisions are agreeable to all involved, and the approval is unanimous.

Robert's Rules of Order

• The Chair Recognizes - A book of parlimentary procedure
• Parlimentary Procedure Reference Sheet - A quick guide to moving the meeting along.

Community Council Specific

• Submitting New By-Laws - A step-by-step process to getting your new council by-laws approved (hint: there is more to it than you think!)
• Zoom Meeting Safety - How to keep your meeting safe from unwanted guests.
• FCC YouTube - a catalogue of recorded resources
• Local Lens - a deeper dive on local issues, hosted by the FCC

FCC Resources for Councils

• Email info@communitycouncils.org for any of the below resources or with additional questions.
• Administrative
  • Staff maintain the website, email list-serv, & archive for Councils.
  • Staff can send reminders for upcoming meetings, post agendas & documents, and print meeting documents.
    • Documents can be printed for Councils with 1 business day notice.
  • Postal Mailing Address - staff maintain mailbox for Councils. Public notices are opened and scanned to Council Chair. Physical copies are left in the mailbox for pickup.
  • The FCC maintains a few different types of insurance:
    • Business & Workman's Comp Insurance for the organization and staff
    • Board & Officers insurance for the Board of Delegates and Executive Director
    • Insurance for Council meetings (COI available upon request)
    • Insurance for special events such as fairs, large picnics, or trash pickups (limited resources available upon request)
• Technical
  • Staff can edit Council webpages.
  • Zoom accounts are maintained by staff.
  • Councils can have access to the email or physical list of members under certain circumstances (check out the policy here).
• Financial
  • The FCC maintains non-profit status for the use of Councils.
  • To use the non-profit status for donations, open a bank account, or apply for a grant - check out our Fiscal Sponsorship policy.
• Training
  • The FCC holds regular online & in person training resources.
• Outreach
  • The FCC holds a limited amount of funds for Councils to use for Bulk Mailings (check out the policy here).
  • Councils may sometimes have access to a limited amount of funds to use for Outreach (check out the policy here).
    • Note: there are no funds available for 2025.

Community Organizing Resources

• Community Tool Box - The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communitities and bring about social change. Our mission is to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and resources.
• Neighborhoods USA - NUSA provides opportunities for diverse people and organizations to share their ideas, values, and experiences to build stronger communities.
• Seed for Change - Offerings on training, meeting facilitation and online resources on collective organising, developing your strategy, campaign and action skills, setting up groups, consensus decision making, running co-ops, and training for trainers.
• Depolarizing Conversation Guide - Alaska Humanities Forum launched its Depolarizing Conversations work in 2021 in response to the contentious public dialogue emerging around the Covid-19 vaccine. The guide compiles what we learned from that project about depolarizing contentious conversations of all sorts. In these pages, you’ll find concrete tools for navigating this kind of challenging conversation with coworkers, family members, friends, and acquaintances, regardless of the topic. Importantly, these tools are for tackling conversations with people you are connected to and intend to stay in relationship with. They are tools for strengthening communities and families in times of conflict and distrust.

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Survey

• Capital Improvement Program Training Resources - Information for Community Councils on the CIP Process and Survey.

Municipal Department Resources

• Comp Plan Informational flyers for Community Councils - Planning Department information flyer on Comprehensive & Neighborhood Plans.

• Alcohol & Marijuana Licenses - Clerk's Office presentation on the intersection and role of Community Councils & Alcohol/Marijuana Licenses