North Slope Borough Residents Guide to Accessing Local Public Services

The North Slope Borough delivers municipal services across nearly 95,000 square miles of northern Alaska, making it one of the largest municipal jurisdictions in the United States by land area. For residents spread across communities including Utqiagvik, Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse), Point Hope, Wainwright, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut, knowing exactly how to reach borough government, track its work, and stay informed can make a real difference, particularly during emergencies like the power outage PSA issued for Utqiagvik on February 11, 2026.

Understanding the Borough's Mission and Who It Serves

Mayor Josiah Patkotak leads a government that frames its purpose in broad but specific terms: "The North Slope Borough is committed to having healthy communities, economically, spiritually and culturally. The borough works with the tribes, cities, corporations, schools, and businesses to support a strong culture, encourage families and employees to choose a healthy lifestyle, and sustain a vibrant economy." That mission shapes how the borough organizes its services and partners, working alongside tribal governments, city administrations, and local businesses rather than operating in isolation.

The communities named in borough materials include Utqiagvik, Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse), Point Hope, Wainwright, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut, though borough materials use the word "including" before listing those names, indicating the full roster of communities under borough jurisdiction may be larger. If you are unsure whether your community falls within borough authority, the main contact line can confirm your status.

How to Contact the North Slope Borough

The fastest way to reach borough government is through its central contact points, all of which route to the main administrative offices located at 1274 Agvik Street in Utqiagvik:

• Mailing address: North Slope Borough, P.O. Box 69, Utqiagvik, AK 99723
• Phone: 907-852-2611
• Email: info@north-slope.org
• Physical address: 1274 Agvik Street, Utqiagvik

The main phone number, 907-852-2611, is your primary entry point for questions about any borough department, service area, or ongoing public announcements. For written inquiries, info@north-slope.org reaches the central administrative team. Office hours and department-specific contacts are not published in current publicly available materials, so calling or emailing directly to confirm availability before visiting in person is advisable.

Using the Borough Website to Access Services

The borough's website is the primary self-service portal for residents, businesses, and visitors. As the borough describes it: "On this website, you can access information about the services we provide along with important upcoming community events and the proceedings of the North Slope Borough Assembly." The site is organized around several key navigation areas that correspond to resident needs:

• Your Government covers the structure and function of borough administration, including elected and appointed officials.
• Residents is the section most directly relevant to people living within the borough and is the first stop for service information.
• Business provides resources for commercial operators and contractors working within borough territory.
• Explore and Our Communities offer information about the borough's geography and individual communities.

Assembly proceedings, which are the formal records and actions of the North Slope Borough Assembly, are accessible through the website as well. If you need to review upcoming agendas, past minutes, or pending legislative items, the website's government section is the starting point. For more specific access questions, the Clerk's Office is the department to contact directly.

The Clerk's Office: Elections and Assembly Support

The Clerk's Office holds a dual responsibility that touches every borough resident directly. Its stated mission is "to provide timely, dependable support services for the Assembly and to ensure the integrity of elections and public responsibilities." In practice, this means the Clerk's Office is responsible for maintaining the official record of Assembly decisions and for administering borough elections, the mechanism through which residents including those in Utqiagvik, Point Hope, and Wainwright choose their representatives.

If you have questions about voter registration, election procedures, Assembly meeting schedules, or official borough records, the Clerk's Office, listed under the "Assembly/Clerk" heading in borough materials, is the appropriate point of contact. Reach the office through the main borough phone number, 907-852-2611, or by email at info@north-slope.org, and ask to be directed to the Clerk.

Capital Improvement Program Management: Infrastructure Projects

For residents tracking construction, infrastructure upgrades, or public works projects in their communities, the Capital Improvement Program Management department, known as CIPM, oversees this work. The department's mission is "to implement the Borough's Capital Program by utilizing Borough employees as well as various professional services contractors." This means CIPM coordinates both in-house borough staff and outside professional contractors to carry out capital projects across the borough's communities.

If a road project, utility installation, or public facility construction is underway in your community, CIPM is the department responsible for managing that work. Questions about project timelines, contractor selection, or capital budget priorities can be directed through the main borough contacts and routed to CIPM staff.

Staying Informed: News and Public Announcements

The borough's "Latest News" section on its website is the official channel for public service announcements and community updates. The most recent example in available records is the NSB Public Service Announcement regarding a power outage in Utqiagvik, dated February 11, 2026. That announcement illustrates how the borough uses its news section to communicate urgent, time-sensitive information to affected communities.

Bookmarking the borough's news page and checking it regularly, particularly during periods of severe weather or infrastructure stress, is a practical habit for any North Slope resident. The borough's own description of the section sums up its purpose: "Find out what's going on & stay up to date."

A Note on Borough Geography and Community Coverage

The scale of the North Slope Borough's jurisdiction is difficult to overstate. The borough encompasses nearly 95,000 square miles of northern Alaska, covering landscapes that range from Arctic coastline to the Brooks Range interior. As the borough itself notes, this area "includes some of the most spectacular landscapes found in North America." For residents, that scale also means municipal services must reach communities separated by vast distances and accessible in some cases only by air.

Understanding that context helps explain why the central contact points, the website, the phone number at 907-852-2611, and the email at info@north-slope.org, carry so much practical weight. These channels connect residents across the entire span of the borough's territory to the same government and the same services, regardless of which community they call home.

For the most current and complete information on specific services, department contacts, and office hours, contacting the borough directly remains the most reliable approach. The administration under Mayor Josiah Patkotak continues to build out accessible information across the borough's platforms, and the website at its core navigation areas, from "Residents" to "Your Government," remains the most comprehensive starting point for anyone navigating public services across the North Slope. Quyanaqpak!