City police union does its part; politicians should do theirs

Mayor-elect Sullivan will take office with a major budget shortfall and a voter mandate to keep property taxes at or below current levels. The problem will be with the municipality for several years, according to most estimates, but voters have made it perfectly clear they expect to see major cuts to city expenses before they're willing to entertain any talk of additional taxes.

Sullivan has a tapped out, restless populace on his hands. Taxpayers aren't the only ones.

The Anchorage Police Department Employees Association approved a wage-concession package that will solve a respectable portion of the overall problem - estimated at $17 million in 2009 alone. We gave back the 3 percent raise already in effect for 2009 for a savings of $872,773, but we're also coming forward with substantial cuts over the next four years that total more than $6.7 million.

The APDEA membership approved this concession package by a large margin - 293-83 - which also marks a record voter turnout for us. The membership clearly understands the city is in a tight spot, and that sacrifice is in order. After all, as police employees, we can't do our jobs without the esteem and goodwill of our neighbors, the residents of this city.

But it's safe to say that with this sizeable concession, the APDEA membership expects the municipality to get its house in order and come up with a long-term financial plan. We are happy to be part of the solution, but we can't be the whole solution.

The past year has been difficult for every city and state government in the country, so it's no surprise that Anchorage wound up short. But now that we know the size of the problem, there's no excuse for sticking our heads in the sand. Members of all of the unions that contract with the municipality are being asked to give up recently negotiated pay raises. Non-union municipal employees and some departments are also taking cuts. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, but they also require extraordinary leadership. It will not work to solve this problem on the backs of Anchorage's municipal employees. A community-wide discussion and collective solution is needed. Like I said, I don't envy the new mayor.

Combined with voluntarily cuts the Anchorage Police Department came forward with earlier this year, the police employees who work to keep this city safe every day have faced the brunt of this budget shortfall. APD offered up nearly $2.5 million in departmental savings, which involved cancelling a planned police academy for this month among other measures. Combined with the wage reductions APDEA members just approved, it's not hard to understand why police employees expect the new mayor and the assembly to show some leadership and political courage.

We need stability to attract quality recruits, and we need predictable funding to plan for and hold academies, purchase equipment and staff the streets with patrol officers. Stable funding and a regular supply of new officers keep overtime costs down and Anchorage residents safer. We don't want to be asked to come back to the table any time soon, and especially not if there's no serious long-range plan in place.

Given what our members face in the line of duty, it's the least our political leaders can do.

Derek Hsieh is the president of the Anchorage Police Department Employees Association and has been a member of the Anchorage police force since 1994.