Proposed public safety layoffs spark contention

"I'm unhappy about any public safety layoffs, period," Assemblywoman Elvi Gray-Jackson said after a packed Assembly work session at which the mayor's proposed 2011 budget was released.

As many as eight police officers and eight firefighters could lose their jobs under the plan.

Additionally, the Anchorage Fire Department would lose 16 vacant positions and the police department would eliminate 10 vacant jobs in the funding proposal. A ladder truck that serves Eagle River and an engine that services the Upper Hillside and Bear Valley would be taken out of service.

Sullivan's plan includes moving some detectives to patrol. If those moves include special victims detectives -- who investigate sexual assaults and crimes against children -- it's a plan Assembly Chairman Dick Traini said he cannot support.

"I'm not moving these detectives," Traini said. "It's unacceptable."

Police union president Derek Hsieh said the idea of backfilling lost patrol officer positions with detectives was troubling. A weeklong union ad campaign warning the public of expected layoffs ended this week, Hsieh said.

"I think the announcement made (today) by the mayor's office confirmed what our ad campaign was saying," Hsieh said.

The mayor didn't quite see it that way: The ad campaign claimed 15 officers would be eliminated, and only eight are expected to be laid off, Sullivan said.

"They were half-wrong, I guess," he said.

Ultimately, the Assembly and the mayor will hash out the details in the coming weeks, and many factors -- including potential revenue increases, federal and state grant funding, public input, and personnel moves -- will affect the discussion, with a budget expected to be approved in December.

The Anchorage Police Department received word Thursday that it would be getting a grant that, if applied directly to payroll for police officers, could help keep four. If the department uses the funds elsewhere, the net loss would be 12 officers under the mayor's proposal.

Likewise, the fire department hopes grants not yet awarded will come through early next year, but the funding is "still up in the air," said Fire Chief Mark Hall.

The proposed fire department equipment cut equates to a 10 percent reduction in service in areas that already take longer to get to, said firefighter union president Rod Harris.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the city's going to take a hit," Harris said.

Firefighters have been taking hits to their paychecks for a while, he said. The union stepped forward last year to give back pay increases that helped save jobs and maintain service, he said.

"To see that the mayor is not recognizing that is concerning," Harris said. As a result, the relationship between firefighters and City Hall has deteriorated, he said.

"Morale in the fire department is probably the lowest since I joined the department 12 years ago," Harris said. Still, Assembly members have assured him they would support firefighters and Harris is confident the body has a good feel for "the pulse of the city."

Freshman Assembly member Paul Honeman, a retired police officer and former police department spokesman, said the mayor was reducing what Honeman called "services deliverable," instead of eliminating costlier administrative positions.

"The math doesn't add up," Honeman said.

Sullivan said he expects a smoother process with the budget this year than last.

"Somehow, every year, year after year, we put together a budget and we move on," Sullivan said.

The Assembly's next move on the budget will be a work session scheduled for Oct. 22.

Find Casey Grove online at adn.com/contact/casey.grove or call him at 257-4589.