Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Teller

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Teller 2023Photo: Scraphound · CC BY-SA 4.0
Town Hall · Teller

How is Teller run?

Teller’s city government spent $504,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, about $2,154 per resident. Water and other utilities ($114,000) are counted separately.

Day-to-day spending, 2022
$504,000
year to June 30, 2022
Per resident, 2022
$2,154
In 2022: $2,154, more than 60% of 67 similar cities
Long-term debt
Not reported
end of FY2022, reported
City staff, 2022
2
full-time · 8 part-time · March payroll $20,852

What stands out about how Teller is run

Read from the city’s budget and official records.

Runs its own water & sewer29% of day-to-day spending goes to water, sewer and trash (2022).A shared school districtShares Bering Strait School District with 6+ other towns.
★ What stands out · Your share of the 2022 budget

About $2,154 per resident a year, or $5.90 a day

Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 63%.

Where the money comes from
Interest, fines & other 52%Fees & charges 19%From the state 13%Sales taxes 8%Utility sales 4%From the federal government 4%
Not in the receipt.Building projects $200,000. With these and the enterprises, the whole budget was $873,000.
Compared with similar places

$2,154 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities

Teller’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($2,154 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 67 Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,751, and the middle half spent $992–$2,776. Teller spent more than 60% of them.

Middle half of the group, $992–$2,776Median $1,751Teller

Includes sewer and trash ($78,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →

The group
67

Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Teller itself left out).

Over the years

No trend yet

Teller reported only 2022 to the Census Bureau, so there is no trend yet.

Who runs it

Who’s in charge in Teller

Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.

Check Teller’s own website for current officialsWe name an official only when a public source lists a current term. None does for Teller yet.
Who works for Teller

One full-time city employee for every 117 residents

On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (234).

By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022

Water & other utilities2
Administration & buildings0 + 3 pt
Roads & transportation0 + 3 pt
Sewer & trash0 + 2 pt
2
full-time
8
part-time
$20,852
payroll for March 2022
$250,224
a year, estimated (March × 12)
$42,100
average full-time pay, before benefits (March × 12)
Compared, 2022.Teller had 8.5 full-time staff per 1,000 residents in March 2022. The median for the 39 of the 67 Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools that reported 2022 staff was 18.1: Teller had fewer than 74% of them. Same group and year as the budget comparison.

The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.

The school district

Bering Strait School District

Teller’s K–12 school district, shared with Brevig Mission, Diomede, Elim, Gambell, Golovin and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.

Schools in Teller →
$50,455
per pupil · AK $21,070
1,783
students
None
long-term debt

Of the $50,455 per pupil, $26,508 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.

The district: schools, scores and graduation →

Where the district’s money comes from
Local 7%State 48%Federal 45%

Alaska districts overall: 24% local, 55% state, 21% federal.

School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.

Who represents Teller

From town hall to Washington

Every level of government that speaks for Teller.

2024 results ↑
  1. 1
    Your cityMayor & council
    Local officials aren’t on record yet.
  2. 2
    Alaska HouseState representatives
    Neal Foster
  3. 3
    Alaska SenateState senator
    Donny Olson
  4. 4
    GovernorStatewide
    Mike Dunleavy
  5. 5
    U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
    Nicholas J. Begich III
  6. 6
    U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Alaska
    Lisa MurkowskiDan Sullivan

Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.

Reach Teller’s government

Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.

The Handbook →

Questions about Teller’s government

How much does Teller spend per resident?

About $2,154 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $2,154 was more than 60% of 67 Alaska cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.

Who runs Teller’s government?

We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Teller yet.

How many people work for Teller?

2 full-time and 8 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $20,852 (about $250,224 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.

Who represents Teller in the state legislature?

State Senate District T (Donny Olson) and State House District 39 (Neal Foster). The House district also covers 26 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.

Ask neighbors about Teller’s government

Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors

Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →