The Legislative Budget and Audit Committee voted to take nearly $3 million from Bush communities and give to generally larger communities that stood to lose under a proposed formula.

Anchorage will receive $5.2 million, which is $1.3 million more than the administration had proposed. Juneau will get $184,000 more than originally proposed and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough would receive about $211,000 in additional funding.

Lawmakers who supported spending more on urban communities argued it was a more fair way to divide the money.

Sen. Gary Wilken, a Fairbanks Republican, said under the formula proposed by the administration, the city of Fairbanks and Fairbanks North Star Borough stood to lose about $420,000.

Wilken argued the formula, which was based on what communities received in this past fiscal year, was arbitrary and that larger communities should not sacrifice funding for the benefit of smaller ones.

Opponents of the plan argued that smaller villages and cities will be disproportionately hurt because they don't have the ability to raise their own revenues to replace the lost funding.

Some smaller communities lack water, sewer and electricity and may not be able to remain solvent when faced with cuts in state support, said Rep. Beth Kerttula, a Juneau Democrat.

Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat, said at least one community in his district is considering dissolving its government, and more will likely follow.

The Murkowski Administration had vetoed $37 million in state assistance to local communities and proposed using federal funds from a tax break approved by Congress as a one-time phase out.

Under the formula, each community would be guaranteed $40,000, but larger communities would receive less of a share than they received last year.

The committee rejected that plan and instead voted to divide the money based on the amount of money local governments received from the state's fiscal 2003 revenue sharing and Safe Communities programs.