Task force tapped for solutions

MAT-SU -- Seven people will soon be mulling how to best address a seemingly inevitable offshoot of growth -- crime.

During the past few months, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly has heard from residents fed up with crime in their area, and has considered options they could take to stop the crimes. None, so far, have brought a resolution, and the assembly and borough mayor have created a task force to give the issue a closer look.

The Mayor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Police Powers was created by the assembly last Tuesday, and Borough Mayor Tim Anderson said Friday he hopes to have everyone in place on the committee by the end of September.

This isn't the first time the topic of boroughwide law enforcement has been an issue in Mat-Su. Sen. Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, created Mat-Su Sheriff's Department Issues, a working group with members from her office, the Wasilla and Palmer police departments and the Mat-Su Borough, earlier this year to study issues pertaining to law enforcement and to consider a borough sheriff's department.

Charlie Fannon represented the Wasilla Police Department on the group. He said they came up with several recommendations for the borough pertaining to implementing a sheriff's department, paying for the initial investment needed, staffing the department and more -- even which areas should be covered first. The remote areas outside the urban portions of Mat-Su, Fannon said, should be separated into districts and covered first, with efforts working toward full coverage of the borough. Their 18-month study of the topic included salary recommendations, insurance suggestions and suggestions for obtaining annual operating funds.

Fannon said while he believes other options may be more suitable for the borough than a sheriff's department, he believes borough residents should be asked whether they'd like to obtain police powers before more studies are done.

"I don't think we should waste our time on any more studies on this," Fannon said. "I would like to see an advisory vote on this issue."

And preferably on this ballot, Fannon said.

Anderson, citing a 2000 survey of nearly 20,000 borough households, said he believes the public is in favor of obtaining police power, but not without more concrete knowledge about the cost.

In that survey, residents were asked to measure their level of satisfaction with police protection in the borough. About 68 percent strongly or mildly agreed they were satisfied, while about 23 percent fell into the mildly disagree or strongly disagree categories. When asked if they were willing to pay for increased police protection, about 30 percent strongly or mildly agreed, compared to about 42 percent who strongly or mildly disagreed.

Anderson said he's not looking to duplicate the research done by Green's team; he hopes to take it a step further.

"We're going to build on that," Anderson said. "Part of the task force's responsibility will be to look at all the options."

Options, Anderson said, ranging beyond just a sheriff's department -- from doing nothing at all to creating police service areas in which residents would be taxed according to how much service is provided. In considering the options, Anderson said, the most important aspect is that borough residents be involved and have a voice in the process. That's partially why, he said, he asked the number of members of the task force be increased from five to seven.

On the list of members, according to the resolution passed unanimously by the assembly Tuesday, will be two members of the general public, a member with experience in public safety, a businessman or member of the private sector, a government employee or member of the public sector, a member with a legislative background and a member representing victims of crime.

Part of the process, Anderson said, will be for the group to review the information compiled by Green's work group. To facilitate that end, Janey Wineinger, a staffer for Green who worked on the earlier study, is one of the names recommended for appointment to the force.

Anderson, in a letter to the assembly regarding the task force, said the group will be following through on some of Green's recommendations, one of which was to send out a questionnaire to borough residents about police protection and analyze the answers. The surveys are coming in, Anderson said, but the results have not yet been compiled. That's only a starting point for the group, however.

"We would also host a series of open houses, where the results of the survey would be reviewed, a report on the incidence of crime in the borough would be summarized and representatives from public safety agencies such as the national sheriff's association, local municipal police and state troopers would be present to discuss various options that are available nationwide," Anderson wrote in the letter.

The resolution passed by the assembly gives the group nine months to analyze the data, estimate the costs of providing police protection and present a set of recommendations to the assembly. While assembly members said they'd like to see the work completed faster, Anderson said he believes the group will be plenty busy during that time. He stressed the importance of presenting a whole picture to borough voters if the task force recommends the borough obtain police powers and create some sort of police force.

"It has to be something the public has been involved in," Anderson said. "When it goes to a vote of the people, if it goes to a vote, I'd like to also disclose the anticipated cost of it."