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So far, Gov. Sarah Palin has offered only one specific complaint in explaining why she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan without any warning. Her spokeswoman cited the 56 vacant positions in the ranks of Alaska State Troopers.
All those vacancies are not a new problem. Troopers have struggled with recruitment and retention for years -- as have other parts of state government. Monegan was well aware of the need to get more bodies into the ranks. In the troopers' long-term strategic plan, issued in December, Monegan boldly says the blueprint "gives everyone within AST (Alaska State Troopers) the reassurance that we commanders know that we can no longer 'do more with less.' ... We want our employees to know that help is on the way."Monegan built the troopers' entire plan around the theme of getting them the resources needed to do the job. After Monegan was fired, the Daily News attempted to find out what progress the troopers had made implementing their strategic plan. Because of the turmoil over the leadership change, we couldn't get an answer from the department.John Cyr, director of the union that represents state troopers, says, "What has been put in place from that plan? Nothing that I know of.""The commissioner was looking at a figure of an extra 150 troopers. We think the number is closer to 200." The state can't get them, Cyr says, because trooper pay is below that offered for more attractive postings in Alaska's urban police departments: "The in-state competition is brutal." "We're stretched past the breaking point. We just don't have enough boots on the ground to do the job." "Right now, we're bleeding blue. Guys are looking for other jobs and I don't blame them. ... We've taken a giant step backward in morale."The department's technology is backward too, Cyr says. Officers write reports in the field by hand and go back to the office to type them; they don't have laptops. They don't have reliable radio coverage in big parts of the Bush. The state has only one drug-sniffing dog, he says. "Our airports are basically free-fly zones for drug dealers and bootleggers." In such an austere environment, firing one commissioner and sending a new one into the same no-win situation won't improve much. Fixing things is going to require more resources. Instead, Gov. Palin is looking to squeeze $2.5 million out of the department's budget for next year.Gov. Palin did ask for five more troopers and more trooper support money in this year's budget, according to budget director Karen Rehfeld. Cyr, the head of the troopers union, says it was basically "a status quo" budget request from the governor. In any event, the Legislature didn't add any troopers and funded only about half of the rest of the requested increase, Rehfeld says. Lawmakers were not willing to put a lot more money into the troopers until more vacancies are filled.Rehfeld noted that troopers aren't the only state job where recruitment and retention is a big problem. She agreed the state needs to look at creative incentives, such as housing aid and forgiveness of student loans. Those ideas will be considered, Rehfeld says, by the working group Gov. Palin had previously appointed to improve recruiting and retention in all parts of state government.New Public Safety Commissioner Charles Kopp is already on board, but he entered under a cloud. A former female employee says he sexually harassed her. Gov. Palin knew about the allegation and judged it to be unfounded, and no lawsuit or official complaint has been filed, so the new commissioner is entitled to the benefit of the doubt on that count for now.Here's hoping the controversy doesn't detract from his ability to do the job. Because his boss has made it clear she has high expectations -- and he'll need all the support he can get from the Legislature and governor if he's going to meet them. BOTTOM LINE: Problems at Alaska's public safety department won't get fixed just by hiring a new commissioner.