Haines Police Department
For more than a year, the Haines Borough has been weighing the question of how to provide police service outside of the townsite. Now, the assembly is considering a proposed solution that could go to voters this October.
Last year, the Alaska State Troopers withdrew its sole blue-shirt officer from the Chilkat Valley. That officer had patrolled outside of the Haines townsite. A wildlife trooper remains in Haines.
Since the trooper withdrawal, the local government in Haines has been struggling to figure out how to provide police services outside the townsite. Attempts to regain the trooper have been unsuccessful.
At a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday, Police Chief Heath Scott asked the assembly to make a decision on how to move forward.
“We’ve been dealing with this set of circumstances since December of 2016,” said Scott. “I think it’s been long enough, I would like a decision made. For their benefit, for my benefit, and for the community’s benefit. And we will respect what that decision is. But much like a doctor who takes a hippocratic oath, if somebody falls in front of us, doing nothing is not appropriate.”
Borough Manager Debra Schnabel has a proposal: create a new service area for on-call police service outside of the townsite.
As proposed, it would include residents whose properties can be accessed by the road system. That would not include remote areas like Chilkat Lake, properties across Mud Bay, Rutzeback, Glacier Point, and Excursion Inlet.
The cost is estimated at $70,000. Schnabel proposes funding police through a mill rate of .72, for the properties included in the new service area.
If the assembly advances the idea, it would go to voters in those areas on the Oct. 2 ballot.
“The community outside the townsite service area, we have never polled them to know as a community what it is that they want, or don’t want,” said Schnabel.
Assembly members expressed mixed feelings.
“I am completely in support of moving this ordinance forward and letting the people outside the townsite vote,” said Heather Lende.
“I find this whole project kind of completely unnecessary,” said Morphet. “I think when the people up the highway want to pay for police service, they will come to us and pay for police service.”
An ordinance establishing the new service area will be introduced at an assembly meeting on July 24. As it’s currently written, the ordinance would sunset if the trooper post is reestablished.
A second ordinance amending the borough charter to allow police powers to be areawide, instead of restricted to the townsite will also be considered.
No more Taxes! Get on your phones, call the Governors office, Public Safety for the Director, our Police need a support system, not finding another tax to cover the costs! If twenty people call, it makes them listen! Our staff at the Borough, can nay do so much! Taxation by the people, and for the people for protection, is not right! The State of Alaska has a Constitional of Alaska has a little notification, saying we shall be protected!