Legislature(2015 - 2016)HOUSE FINANCE 519
02/03/2015 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB72 || HB73 | |
| Fy 16 Budget Overview: Department of Administration | |
| Fy 16 Budget Overview: Department of Public Safety | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 72 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 73 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
February 3, 2015
1:31 p.m.
1:31:41 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Neuman called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mark Neuman, Co-Chair
Representative Steve Thompson, Co-Chair
Representative Dan Saddler, Vice-Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Les Gara
Representative Lynn Gattis
Representative David Guttenberg
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Representative Cathy Munoz
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Tammie Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Sheldon Fisher, Commissioner, Department of Administration;
Cheryl Lowenstein, Director, Division of Administrative
Services, Department of Administration; Gary Folger,
Commissioner, Department of Public Safety; Terry Vrabec,
Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety; Kelly
Howell, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Public Safety; Colonel Jim Cockrell,
Director, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of
Public Safety.
SUMMARY
HB 72 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUNDS
HB 72 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 73 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 73 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
FY 16 BUDGET OVERVIEWS:
Department of Administration
Department of Public Safety
HOUSE BILL NO. 72
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs, capitalizing funds, making
reappropriations, and making appropriations under art.
IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution of the State of Alaska,
from the constitutional budget reserve fund; and
providing for an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 73
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing for
an effective date."
1:32:15 PM
Co-Chair Neuman discussed the agenda for the day.
^FY 16 BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
1:32:22 PM
SHELDON FISHER, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
(DOA), provided a PowerPoint presentation titled "Alaska
Department of Administration Department Overview" dated
February 3, 2015 (copy on file). He addressed slide 2 that
included the department's mission and an organizational
chart. He noted that the department provided services to
the public and other state agencies. Divisions offering
services to the public included the Division of Motor
Vehicles (DMV), the Division of Retirement and Benefits
(DRB), the Public Defender Agency (PDA), and the Office of
Public Advocacy (OPA). Other services to the public were
provided by independent agencies housed within DOA. There
were seven divisions within the department that provided
services to state agencies. He turned to slide 3 that
showed DOA service areas statewide; the department's
statewide services were primarily the Division of Motor
Vehicles and the Public Defender Agency. Other agencies
were represented in core markets.
1:34:24 PM
Commissioner Fisher addressed performance measures on slide
4. He noted that under the department's three core services
areas different divisions were represented more than once,
which recognized that DOA services provided to other
agencies touched different topics. For example, the
Division of General Services (DGS) provided leasing
services to a host of other government departments across
the state. He looked at the groupings of core service areas
that the department inherited; he would continue to assess
whether the measures made sense going forward. He looked at
slide 5 that included performance measures related to
legal, advocacy, and regulatory services. The slide showed
a chart of the Public Defender appellate backlog; the
backlog had increased substantially in the past year. He
relayed that the felony caseload the PDA was facing had
increased 60 percent since 2009; appeals had increased by
82 percent between FY 10 and FY 14; and sentencing appeals
had increased 100 percent. The substantial increase in the
department's workload was driving the rising backlog. He
noted that in prior years there had been an increase in
funding, but the department had not been able to keep up.
1:36:08 PM
Commissioner Fisher moved to slide 6 related to a family
support performance measure. The slide showed a chart
pertaining to predisposition reports filed with the courts
by the due date for OPA. There had been a substantial
increase in workload in recent years; currently the
department had the highest ward to guardian ad litem ratio
in the country, which was in excess of twice the
recommended level. He communicated that the department was
facing increasing workloads in a shrinking budget
environment, which was challenging for the division.
Commissioner Fisher highlighted the Enterprise Support
Services on slides 7 through 9. Slide 7 included a chart
representing annual savings below market value for leases
of up to 10 years; the department had been able to save
close to $400,000 in the prior year. Slide 8 related to the
percentage of growth; funding to Enterprise Support
Services grew slightly in FY 15. He relayed that the
department attempted to measure its performance in a
variety of categories; slide 9 pertained to services
provided to other agencies. Generally the department was
doing well; some divisions were performing better than
others. He shared that the department was discussing how to
make improvements in divisions on the lower end of
performance such as DGS.
Commissioner Fisher addressed slide 10 related to DOA
services to the public. He relayed his intent to go into
additional detail on agency budgets. The Public Defender
Agency was funded almost exclusively with general funds;
there were a few interagency fees collected from the Court
System and some clients. The Office of Public Advocacy was
similarly funded primarily with general funds; it did
receive a modest amount from HNS for services provided. The
Division of Motor Vehicles was funded by program receipts.
The Division of Retirement and Benefits was mostly funded
by the retirement fund, with a small amount coming from
general funds associated with EPORS [Elected Public
Officers Retirement System].
1:39:49 PM
Commissioner Fisher continued to highlight services to the
public on slide 11. The Alaska Public Broadcasting
Commission and the Alaska Public Offices Commission
received a substantial amount of general funds, whereas the
Violent Crimes Compensation Board and the Alaska Oil and
Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) were largely self-
funded. He moved to slide 12 and addressed divisions
providing services to state agencies. The services were
funded with a combination of receipts from other agencies
and general funds. He detailed that the general funds
reduced the rate charged to other departments. He addressed
slide 13 and relayed that the bulk of the divisions'
funding was made up of interagency transfers of one
category or another. Slide 14 included a pie chart showing
the department's budget by fund source: undesignated
general funds represented 25 percent, designated general
funds (receipts collected primarily by DMV and AOGCC)
accounted for 7 percent, other funds (mostly transfers from
other agencies) accounted for 66 percent. Slides 15 and 16
included charts showing the department's budget by division
(all funds). He noted that the slides began to illustrate
the challenges facing the department as it dealt with the
first round of budget cuts. He pointed to the department's
divisions with the highest budgets including the DRB, DGS,
Enterprise Technology Services (ETS), and Risk Management;
however, out of $88 million in general funds, $50 million
was associated with OPA and PDA. He explained that DOA did
not feel it was appropriate to make full budget cuts to the
two divisions given the challenges they had in meeting
their mandates and due to increasing backlogs. He furthered
that as a result, the department had made larger reductions
to other divisions. Additionally, as the administration's
overall budget became clear, DOA would have a better
insight into its own budget; DOA did not yet know what
services other agencies were planning on procuring from the
department.
1:43:43 PM
Co-Chair Neuman noted that Representative Pruitt had joined
the meeting.
Commissioner Fisher progressed to slide 17 showing the
department's share of total agency operations. He relayed
that the department's overall budget was declining for the
third year in a row. Slide 18 addressed appropriations
within the department (general fund only). He pointed out
that OPA and PDA were well above the rest of the divisions.
He noted that some of the other divisions fell into a
different order than on previous slides. For example, DMV
was number two due to receipts collected. He turned to
slide 19 showing appropriations within the DOA (all funds).
The highest cost was attributed to Centralized
Administrative Services, followed by DGS, OPA, PDA, ETS,
and etcetera. Slide 20 related to unallocated general
funds; the department planned to provide detail shortly on
how a $7.6 million unallocated budget category would be
spread across the divisions.
1:45:58 PM
Commissioner Fisher turned to slide 21 that showed DOA line
items. He detailed that services, including contracts,
leases, software, and personal, dominated the department's
budget. The department saw a need to focus on the areas
across the state as a whole. Slide 22 pertained to salary
adjustment increases and personal services costs. He
explained that the majority of the growth was associated
with an increase in salaries from 2006 to present. He noted
that a blue box on the right of the chart represented
additional headcount incurred by the department. Slide 23
showed the incremental headcount; on a permanent, full-time
basis from 2006 to present, there had been an increase of
69 employees within OPA and PDA and an additional 15
associated with the IRIS project. He elaborated that when
the IRIS project launched, the positions would be reduced.
Co-Chair Neuman asked what IRIS stood for.
Commissioner Fisher relayed that the acronym stood for
Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS). He detailed
that the first phase of the system would go live in July
[2015]; the phase would provide more and improved
information for the state and would provide increased
insight into how resources were utilized and where the
money was spent. The bulk of the increase in headcount was
related to the OPA and PDA due to an increase in workload.
1:48:56 PM
Commissioner Fisher moved to slide 24. The department
currently had a building maintenance request in the budget
for approximately $3 million; historically, it had spent
about $7.25 million to maintain its buildings, which he
believed was close to what would continue to be required to
maintain and preserve buildings over the long-term. He
noted that the department would be looking to reduce costs
in other areas and try to do the same maintenance at a
lower cost. He looked at slide 25 pertaining to the
department's core initiatives and challenges. The
department recognized that while its budget was slightly
under $350 million, many of its decisions impacted other
agencies and departments as well. He detailed that
personnel costs were impacted by the contract negotiations
with labor unions and healthcare costs the state provided.
Additionally, DOA believed there was a need in the state to
address improved productivity and looking for ways of
capitalizing on some initiatives that had already been
undertaken. The slide addressed healthcare costs and the
reduction of the unfunded liability; there had been a
substantial effort and some success in reducing healthcare
costs in the past year or so, which the he believed needed
to continue. The department saw a need to provide savings
in its procurement areas; IRIS would provide the
information needed to drive additional savings, but some
consolidation, centralization, or focus would be needed to
improve savings. He addressed Information Technology (IT)
and detailed that it was currently widely decentralized;
the state spent approximately $220 million on IT services.
He detailed that about $30 million of the figure resided in
DOA; the department saw an opportunity to consolidate and
improve the service and cost. He spoke to improving
facility management, utilizing space better, negotiating
better leases, and examining whether the state should own
rather than lease buildings.
1:52:42 PM
Co-Chair Neuman pointed to slide 25 related to how items
would affect the budget. He addressed significant potential
savings he believed could result from IRIS. He noted that
the project had begun four years earlier and phase one
related to procurement would come out in July. He explained
that procurement for all agencies would be centralized
through DOA. He discussed that the state spent $2 billion
to $3 billion on procurement per year; savings of 10
percent would equal $200 million to $300 million. Phase two
would come out in July 2016 related to payroll and
efficiencies in personnel costs.
Commissioner Fisher agreed on the timeframe.
Co-Chair Neuman addressed where efficiencies could be
found. He looked at IT and relayed that an IT report had
been commissioned by DOA the prior year and an executive
summary was expected shortly. He discussed that typically
IT services were spread out because departments wanted
autonomy, but the state was in the process of consolidating
the services to improve efficiency. He believed there would
provide a marked improvement. He stated that the change
would take the labor costs off of state employees and would
create better IT services between the departments. He
addressed facility management and asked the commissioner to
speak about a Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities building.
1:55:42 PM
Commissioner Fisher shared that DOA was currently in a
dispute with the landlord of a DMV building related to
building maintenance. The department was examining whether
it should own a building rather than leasing and whether it
could save the state money.
Co-Chair Neuman elaborated that the state had been leasing
a building for 20 to 30 years and could have bought it
three times for what it was paying for the lease. He
wondered why the state would continue to lease the building
because DMV was not going anywhere. He asked about fee
schedules for legal services. He wondered if the department
charged separate fees for legal services.
CHERYL LOWENSTEIN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, shared that the
Office of Administrative Hearings charged fees. She noted
that OPA and PDA provided free legal services. She added
that DOA created a rate for the Office of Administrative
Hearings annually. She explained that disputes and
mediations generally went through the office. The
department did not charge any other legal fees.
1:58:07 PM
Representative Gara asked for verification that guardians
ad litem were appointed to children in need of aid (e.g.
foster youth and other) to recommend to a court what the
child's needs were and what the best outcome could be.
Commissioner Fisher agreed that Representative Gara's
synopsis was largely correct. He elaborated that there were
guardians for elderly people with needs as well.
Representative Gara asked for verification that Alaska had
the highest caseloads in the country. Commissioner Fisher
responded in the affirmative.
Representative Gara surmised that the high rate damaged the
state's ability to steer youth towards success and
opportunity. Commissioner Fisher believed the high workload
was a barrier to effectively meeting the state's needs.
Representative Gara contended that it was not just the
state's needs, but the kids' needs as well. He pointed to
the department's core initiatives and challenges on slide
25. He did not see anything on the slide related to
improving services provided to children needing the help of
a guardian ad litem during a court process.
Commissioner Fisher took the point. He explained that the
slide portrayed areas where the department could
substantially reduce costs in the current environment. He
believed the slide included a number of items that could
drive significant cost savings. He had tried to shield OPA
and PDA from the current fiscal challenges to the greatest
extent possible. He would take Representative Gara's
comments under advisement.
2:01:23 PM
Representative Kawasaki remarked that the state was looking
at substantial budget deficits in the near and potentially
long-term. He wondered if there was a better way to deal
with some of the agencies within DOA's purview. For
example, he believed the Department of Natural Resources
could be a more appropriate place to house AOGCC. He did
not know what the Division of General Services, but he had
observed that every other agency had a procurement
specialist and significant administrative services staff.
He wondered if it would be more efficient for the
department to provide all procurement, IT, and other
services. He asked if facilities management would be more
appropriately placed under the Department of Transportation
and Public Facilities.
Co-Chair Neuman noted that the department was working on
the issue.
Commissioner Fisher believed there was a broad question
about the appropriate strategy for centralization versus
decentralization. He referred to the examples provided by
Representative Kawasaki and stated that a fairly fact-
specific analysis needed to be done. He opined that the
answer to the question should be driven by efficiency. He
furthered that there were times where centralization was
the most efficient way to get things done, but there were
also times when some expertise was needed in the various
departments. For example, there were certain core commodity
IT services that were the same for all departments and
should be centralized; however, there were instances where
services were unique to an individual department and it
made more sense keep the expertise within the department.
He agreed that there was an opportunity to centralize
procurement or other to increase cost savings, but in a way
that minimized the disruption on other departments. He
noted that some minor functions may remain within the
departments.
2:05:41 PM
Co-Chair Neuman noted that DOA touched every agency within
the state. He remarked that $50 million of the department's
$88 million budget went to OPA; the remainder went to
administering state services, contract negotiations, and
other.
Representative Kawasaki observed that each agency had its
own administrative or support services division with its
own procurement and IT employees. He believed there was a
significant amount of duplication in the departments.
Co-Chair Neuman asserted that there was no way to
consolidate the director of administrative services
positions, given that they were specialized within each
department.
Commissioner Fisher believed Representative Kawasaki's
question was right. He believed there needed to be a bit
more centralization IT. For example, DOA currently managed
all of the core telecommunications contracts and had
secured fairly favorable rates for large wide-area network
contracts. He noted that costs would be dramatically more
expensive if each division tried to procure its own
contract; tremendous efficiencies were gained by
consolidation.
Representative Kawasaki stated that even within DOA there
was a Divisions of Administrative Services and General
Services that had their own procurement officers.
Commissioner Fisher agreed. He stated that DOA needed to
set the example and demonstrate savings that could be
generated.
2:08:56 PM
Vice-Chair Saddler stated that everyone would like to find
big savings by consolidation somehow. He wondered if
savings had resulted from consolidating the personnel
function within the Division of Personnel in the past ten
years. He asked for examples of unique services that could
not be consolidated or centralized. Commissioner Fisher
replied that any service could be centralized, but whether
it should be was a different question. For example, there
may be a particular system that was unique to a single
department. He detailed that IRIS was housed under DOA and
he did not believe the individuals administering the
program should be centralized due to the specific skills
required. On the other hand, there were a host of commodity
services that were the same for every department; he
believed these services should be centralized and would
result in great savings. He believed that commodities
should be centralized, but unique skills would typically
benefit from decentralization. He would follow up on Vice-
Chair Saddler's question pertaining to personnel.
Vice-Chair Saddler remarked that if the department could
verify that savings had resulted from the personnel
consolidation he would be all for moving ahead with the
consolidation of other functions. He referred to the chart
related to customer service on slide 9. He wondered how the
data had been complied, what the response rate had been,
and whether any surprises had resulted.
Commissioner Fisher deferred the question to his colleague.
Ms. Lowenstein replied that DOA annually surveyed the
administrative services director in each department; DOA
did not generally receive a 100 percent response, but seven
to ten directors replied.
Vice-Chair Saddler asked if the department was gratified
with the results and if there were ever surprises. Ms.
Lowenstein responded that the department had found that the
numbers were sometimes driven by the activities that DOA
was doing. As an example, she pointed to space saving
standards DOA had implemented. Another example was the
partial-decentralization of personnel.
Commissioner Fisher added that the figures were very high;
any business would be pleased. He was more interested in
the relative numbers than in the absolute numbers. He
believed that the relative number showed places the
department did not do as well as others.
2:12:57 PM
Representative Wilson referred to cost growth in the PDA.
She was interested in recent historical data and where the
growth was occurring in the division (e.g. child in need,
felony cases, or other). She wondered if there was a reason
the department could not charge on a sliding scale or based
on the number of repeat offences a person had.
Commissioner Fisher would follow up with relative and
absolute numbers. He relayed that the felony trial rate had
increased 60 percent, appeals between 2010 and 2014 had
increased by 82 percent, and sentencing appeals had
increased by 100 percent during the same timeframe. He
detailed that the public defender was for indigent
individuals; the state had a constitutional mandate to
provide representation services for people who could not
afford to represent themselves. He had not attempted to
determine whether there was some charge the state could
impose.
Representative Wilson countered that she understood, but
she believed it said something that the individuals
repeatedly got into trouble. She referred to a scale of
people with some money versus no money who received
services. She stated that it may not mean a lot on the
scale of money the state needed, but she thought it may
send a message. She remarked that the state offered a
public defender to fathers seeking custody of their
children, while adoptive parents paid $10,000 to $15,000.
She also requested figures related to the increasing
guardian ad litem costs. She wondered what would happen
when the department was not able follow its mandate because
of the high workload. She asked how the department would
look at the issue in the future.
Commissioner Fisher answered that currently there were 88
wards per guardian ad litem, whereas the recommended level
was 40. He believed guardians attempted to make contact
with their wards on a monthly basis, but did not have as
much time as they needed.
Representative Wilson discussed the entities that went into
the cost of a child when they are a ward of a court. She
believed there was no way the state could ask a guardian ad
litem to see a child once a month when their caseload was
so high. She stated that if the guardian ad litem could not
make it once a month the state needed to determine a new
timeframe until the caseload number was reduced.
Co-Chair Thompson turned to slide 6 related to family
support. He asked what percentage of the data accounted for
youth and senior protective services. Commissioner Fisher
would follow up with the data.
2:17:10 PM
Representative Guttenberg remarked on Commissioner Fisher's
testimony that DOA was the coordinating agency for IT and
telecommunications for the state. He discussed that the
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
had done a broadband taskforce that had been completed a
couple of years earlier and had shown that the state was
far behind the curve. He remarked that the state's ability
to deliver telecommunications and broadband across the
state was one of his personal issues. He noted that all
departments complained about a lack in broadband access. He
referred to testimony from the Office of Children's
Services that it took 20 minutes to fill out a page and
another 20 minutes to change pages due to slow service. He
remarked that broadband was under DOA's purview. He
furthered that school districts had a problem with E-rate
and village councils located next to schools had a problem
not having E-rate. He wondered if the department could keep
expanding the service across the entire state. He stressed
that Alaska clearly lagged behind. He elaborated that he
barely got 1 megabit, whereas the broadband taskforce
recommended a speed of 100 megabits. He observed that the
price was expensive, but the price of not being able to
function in rural areas was dragging the state down. He
wondered about the commissioner's perspective on increasing
bandwidth for the state and allowing other entities to take
advantage of what the state was doing.
Commissioner Fisher replied that he had an appreciation for
the challenges related to broadband access. He detailed
that in the past he had worked for various communications
companies. He stated that there was a difference in the
challenges in rural versus urban areas; the cost of
providing broadband services to every Alaskan, especially
at 100 megabits, would be quite astronomical. He believed
there were some things that could be done to improve
access, but the question was about how much the state was
willing to invest. He asserted that the current economics
did not support industry making large investments to take
broadband to more rural communities. He believed it would
require working together to decide what the state could
afford.
Representative Guttenberg referred to other possibilities
including fiber optics. He pointed to the state's current
budget crisis and remarked that when five OCS officers
dropped down to four and it took them 20 minutes to change
pages online, the state was hampering itself by not doing
what it needed to do. He believed it was a simple
efficiency the state could create that would enable workers
to be more efficient. He reasoned that it would take $1 to
save $10.
2:22:31 PM
Commissioner Fisher took note of the example. He believed
it may be possible to provide a more efficient interface
for OCS employees that would enable the information to
transmit without the background and template. He would work
to determine whether at an application layer a more
efficient service could be provided.
Co-Chair Neuman stated that the bottom line was the
implementation of the recommendation in the broadband
report would be $2.2 billion. He did not know where the
funds would come from given the state's $3.5 billion
deficit. He did not believe finding the funds would come to
fruition given the needs for other services such as
education and public safety.
Representative Gara spoke to the problem related to
guardians ad litem and a concern about keeping unemployment
down. He discussed trying to make the choices that caused
the least harmful impact as possible. He asked if the
department had considered trying to save jobs by increasing
the health insurance employee charge for higher income non-
union employees or taking a look at the policy of charging
the same price for a single family versus a larger family.
He believed that regardless of the number of family members
a state employee paid the same amount for health insurance.
He wondered if the department had thought about the issue
as a way to save jobs.
Commissioner Fisher replied in the affirmative, but
believed the department needed to examine the issue
further. The department recognized that healthcare
represented a huge cost to the state and was committed to
continuing recent work to reduce the costs. He would
consider some of the issues outlined by Representative
Gara.
Representative Wilson wondered how much the state saved by
contracting with an out-of-state vendor for driver
licenses. She was unhappy with the change and reasoned that
the service could be provided by the local DMV.
Commissioner Fisher would follow up on the question.
Co-Chair Thompson remarked that the state had been working
to privatize a significant number of services; however,
taking the items out-of-state was not always the most
beneficial. He reasoned that the state's university system
could provide some of the services. He wondered why some of
the items were not done in state. He spoke to a cigarette
stamp on the back of packets to indicate that state tax was
collected, but the work was contracted with a vendor in
Seattle for $300,000 per year. He questioned why the
wholesaler was not including the cost of the stamp in the
price of cigarettes. He summarized that much of the
significant privatization that took money and jobs out of
Alaska was unnecessary.
2:27:37 PM
Commissioner Fisher replied that Governor Bill Walker
believed the state should spend as much money inside Alaska
as possible.
Representative Munoz asked whether one spouse could opt out
of health insurance coverage if a couple both worked for
the state. She wondered if there was any incentive in the
system to recognize the option. Commissioner Fisher
answered that "we are self-insured in our medical plan";
therefore, even if an employee opted out of coverage, he
did not believe the cost to the state would change. He
would look further into the question.
2:28:56 PM
AT EASE
2:31:43 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Neuman specified that the budget that was being
reviewed was not a work-in-progress and was closer to
official numbers.
^FY 16 BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
2:33:29 PM
GARY FOLGER, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
(DPS), introduced department staff. He relayed that DPS was
one of the older departments in the state. He remarked that
the troopers were on the front page of the newspaper close
to daily. He asked the committee to remember that the
department provided an important core function of
government.
TERRY VRABEC, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY, provided a PowerPoint presentation titled
"Department of Public Safety Department Overview" dated
February 3, 2015 (copy on file). The department's mission
was to ensure public safety and enforce fish and wildlife
laws throughout the state. He listed core services on slide
2:
· Law enforcement patrol and investigations
· Rural law enforcement services
· Domestic violence and sexual assault programs
· Statewide public safety programs
· Resource protection
· Highway safety
Mr. Vrabec addressed the department's organizational chart
on slide 3. He relayed that he served under Commissioner
Folger. The department was divided into five division that
he and the commissioner oversaw. Additionally, DPS housed
three councils including the Alaska Fire Standards Council,
the Alaska Police Standards Council, and the Council on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA). He noted that
the department also included the Crime Lab and the DPS
Training Academy. The department was currently made up of
885 permanent employees. He highlighted statewide impact on
slide 4; DPS was the primary statewide law enforcement
agency. He elaborated that DPS assisted many other state
and federal agencies on a regular basis with investigative
assistance, search and rescue, training, the Alaska Public
Safety Information Network (APSIN), and the crime lab.
Mr. Vrabec spoke to four performance indicator graphs on
slide 5. He addressed the top left chart related to the
percentage of homicides solved by Alaska State Troopers. He
detailed that in FY 14 there had been 18 homicides; 16 (88
percent) of the cases had been solved. He highlighted
property crimes that had been investigated and closed with
the identification of a suspect or offender. He specified
that in 2014 there had been 3,855 incidents; 1,358 (35
percent) of the suspects or offenders had been identified.
He discussed domestic violence and sexual assault programs,
specifically related to shelter nights provided by victim
service providers (chart on the lower left). He remarked
that the number may seem high, but he asked members to keep
in mind that each person in a family staying in a shelter
would count as a shelter night; in FY 14 there were over
98,000 shelter nights. He looked at the chart related to
unintentional fire fatalities on the lower right of the
slide. He stated fire fatalities had been reduced from 23
to 12 since 2013, which represented a 47 percent reduction.
2:37:06 PM
Mr. Vrabec moved to slide 6 and spoke to additional
performance indicators. He relayed that there had been a 28
percent improvement in crime lab service requests completed
in less than 30 days. He addressed resource protection and
relayed that in FY 14 there had been over 75,000 contacts
by wildlife troopers resulting in over 3,800 violations,
which represented a 5 percent decline. He spoke to boating
accident fatalities; the figure had dropped by 12 down to
10 deaths in 2013. He reported that half of the individuals
had not been wearing life jackets. He communicated that
there had been 5 motor vehicle accidents with fatalities
involving impaired drivers in 2013; there had been 11
deaths in 2012, and 8 in 2011.
Commissioner Folger discussed that the three primary calls
the agency received statewide were public assist, ready
reports (reports of dangerous drivers), and alarm calls. He
relayed that the following portion of the presentation
would be related to FY 16.
Co-Chair Neuman wondered how many alarms were set off by
burglaries versus false alarms. Commissioner Folger replied
that very few were burglaries.
Co-Chair Thompson asked if there was a fee to residents if
the department had to continually respond to alarms.
Commissioner Folger replied in the negative.
Co-Chair Thompson remarked that most communities charged
for the service.
KELLY HOWELL, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, relayed that she
would address some of the department's proposals in the
governor's FY 16 amended budget. She prefaced her comments
by noting that although the governor's amended budget had
not officially been transmitted, the numbers in the
presentation reflected what DPS had proposed.
Co-Chair Neuman asked if the figures were based on a 5
percent reduction to the department's budget.
Ms. Howell replied that slide 7 showed a snapshot of the FY
15 management plan, FY 16 governor's amended budget, and
the difference; the difference was a 2.7 percent reduction
from the FY 15 management plan; however, it was roughly a 5
percent reduction from the work-in-progress budget. The
slide depicted a $5.6 million reduction in the department's
overall budget ($4 million of the amount was unrestricted
general funds). The budget included a reduction of 24
permanent, full-time positions and 9 non-permanent
positions. She elaborated that many of the positions were
eliminated vacancies or transfers into other vacancies,
with an effort to minimize the loss of jobs.
Ms. Howell addressed a pie chart on slide 8 depicting the
department's operating budget by fund source. She detailed
that 83 percent of the department's budget was unrestricted
general funds. Slide 9 showed the budget by line item; the
majority of the budget went to personal services (56
percent). Slide 10 showed the budget by component. She
relayed that the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska
Wildlife Troopers were separate divisions, but fell under
the same budget component. The two divisions had been
separated in the chart for comparison purposes; Alaska
State Troopers accounted for 50 percent of the budget and
Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The statewide support budget
component included the Division of Administrative Services,
Division of Statewide Services, the Crime Lab, the DPS
Training Academy, and the Office of the Commissioner.
2:43:11 PM
Ms. Howell stated that despite the reductions, the DPS
priority was on its core fundamental services. Core
services included police services such as responding to
calls for service, enforcement of laws, patrol functions,
and resource protection. She noted that the enforcement of
laws included enforcement of fish and wildlife laws through
the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. She addressed additional core
services such as forensic science services; legal drug and
alcohol interdictions across the state; providing major
crime investigations and assistance to other law
enforcement agencies; investigations into fires resulting
in death, serious injury, or substantial loss of property;
and services to individuals impacted by domestic violence
and sexual assault.
Ms. Howell addressed slide 11 related to significant
operating changes for FY 16. The first three bullets
included increment requests in the department's FY 16
operating budget. She briefly highlighted a restructuring
of the department's Aircraft Section, which she planned to
discuss later on. The governor's office was transferring
$1.5 million for CDVSA programs to DPS. The third bullet
pertained to funds for shelter services for women and
children. She elaborated that the bullets related to CDVSA
included increments that the council was currently
receiving through other agencies; the increment requests
would move the funding into the DPS budget. She referenced
positions marked for deletion and relayed that many had
been identified as positions that could be moved into
vacant trooper patrol positions.
2:46:03 PM
Ms. Howell continued to discuss significant operating
changes on slide 12. The first bullet related to personal
services savings through efficient management of employees
pertained to overtime and premium pay (e.g. standby pay)
that DPS employees received. The decrement was
representative of the department's effort to reign the
costs in to the extent possible, while continuing to ensure
protection to the public. She spoke to a proposed deletion
of funding for the K-9 Program; the department currently
used highly trained canines for drug interdictions, but
would discontinue the service. The slide included the
proposed transfer of the patrol vessel Stimpson [from Dutch
Harbor to Kodiak]. She briefly highlighted a couple of
decrements to the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO)
program.
Ms. Howell spoke to the capital budget increment requests
on slide 13. The department was requesting a $1.2 million
federal receipt increment for marine fisheries patrol
improvements; the increment had been provided annually in
the capital budget.
Commissioner Folger elaborated that the department used the
federal receipts to hire techs to conduct tank inspections
for crab boats and other. He relayed that at statehood some
of the fisheries had been controlled by the federal
government and others had been controlled by the state
(much of which was called a migratory fish). The state
still patrolled for crab and salmon; the money helped the
federal government identify how many halibut were being
caught and other.
Ms. Howell continued with slide 13. The second bullet
referred to $850,000 in pass through funding the department
was requesting for the Alaska Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault Intervention Program, which was run through the
Municipality of Anchorage and was designed to hold
offenders accountable. The third bullet was also pass
through funding totaling $2 million for Rental Assistance
for Victims through the Empowering Choice Housing Program.
The program was administered by the Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation (AHFC) and provided housing vouchers for
families impacted by domestic violence.
Mr. Vrabec moved to slide 14 related to the Alaska State
Troopers. The division had five geographic detachments
statewide, with a headquarters in Anchorage. Some of the
major components included the Alaska Bureau of
Investigation, which looked at major crimes including
homicides and sexual assaults; the unit also assisted other
departments. He highlighted the statewide Drug and Alcohol
Enforcement Unit, which investigated various crimes
including bootlegging and illegal drug distribution. He
spoke to Judicial Services, which included the department's
court service officers who provided work at the courthouse
and other duties such as the transportation of prisoners.
2:50:37 PM
Ms. Howell turned to slide 15 showing the FY 15 management
plan compared to the FY 16 governor's amended budget. She
pointed out that the Alaska State Troopers would take a
$5.2 million reduction, which equated to the loss of 20
permanent full-time positions. She elaborated that 19
troopers in specialized positions would be shifted to
vacant trooper patrol positions. She emphasized that the
change would not result in layoffs; the specialized units
would be transferred into vacant patrol positions to
bolster the department's core law enforcement patrol
service. There was a reduction to non-permanent positions;
of the 6 positions proposed for deletion, 2 were vacant,
and 4 were the department's cold case investigators. She
expounded that the positions were long-term non-permanent
positions that currently investigated cold case homicides;
the workload would be shifted to permanent full-time
investigators under the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Vrabec moved to the VPSO program on slide 16. As of
December 31, 2014 there were 87 grant funded positions. He
relayed that the number fluctuated; there were currently 6
coordinators, 4 VPSO coordinators, and 77 VPSOs in 71
communities.
Ms. Howell highlighted that the $14,332,000 was part of the
overall budget of the VPSO program totaling $17,653,000 in
FY 16. The changes proposed to the VPSO program were
focused on restructuring. She stated that it may appear
that there was a reduction in overall positions, but the
department had taken recommendations from the House Finance
Committee to reevaluate and reexamine the program. Despite
significant funding appropriated by the legislature and
efforts of the department and the nonprofit grantees
responsible for hiring VPSOs, the department had yet to
achieve the level of positions it had received funding for.
She spoke to a reduction of 5 permanent full-time
positions; currently there were 6 commission trooper
positions who acted as VPSO support troopers. The troopers
would shift over to a general trooper position versus
focusing specifically on VPSO oversight. She elaborated
that the individual positions were providing oversight to
the VPSOs working in the regions they serve; those duties
would shift to the troopers already based in the area. She
emphasized that the desire was not to minimize the support
provided to the VPSO program, but to spread the
responsibility to all troopers in the given region.
2:54:51 PM
Ms. Howell spoke to the FY 16 work-in-progress budget,
which had included an increment request to increase the
overall indirect rate that VPSO grantees were allowed to
charge. The department would work with its not-for-profit
grantees to compromise on the indirect rate with the
existing funding the department had for the VPSO program.
The department believed it could come to a compromise
without needing to request additional funding from the
legislature. She highlighted a reduction of $1.6 million in
the grants line, which represented the difference in the
positions DPS had received funding for versus positions it
had filled and retained. There were currently 77 VPSOs and
4 VPSO positions who provided coordinator duties; funding
had been provided for 121 positions. The department
proposed to reduce the overall grants line and would be
more than happy to request additional funds when the
program reached the targeted numbers.
Commissioner Folger addressed the Alaska Wildlife Troopers
on slide 18. He detailed that the detachments were
structured similarly to the troopers. There were 97
wildlife troopers and 148 total in the division. The
Wildlife Investigations Unit fell within the division and
focused on the more serious wildlife crimes. He highlighted
the Marine Section, which encompassed approximately 40
vessels (20-feet and greater) statewide. The Aircraft
Section housed 44 aircrafts, which ranged from Super Cubs
to twin-engine aircrafts. He noted that the Aircraft
Section was one of the increment request areas stemming
from the Helo-1 helicopter crash [in 2013] National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations.
Ms. Howell spoke to a budget comparison chart on slide 19
related to the Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The chart showed
an overall increase in the wildlife trooper budget of $1.3
million, which was directly related to the request for
funding to restructure the Aircraft Section. The request
included 8 new permanent full-time civilian positions. She
noted that Alaska Wildlife Trooper staff were available to
answer questions on the increment request, NTSB findings,
and the outcome of an external audit conducted on the
Aircraft Section.
Mr. Vrabec addressed Fire and Life Safety on slide 20. He
noted that the state fire marshal and division director was
available for questions. The unit included a Training and
Education Bureau, a Life Safety Inspections Bureau, a Plans
Review Bureau, and the Office of Rural Fire Protection.
Some of the deputy fire marshals were located in different
regions of the state and were responsible for the
investigation of major crimes related to fire, homicides,
or other. He noted that the division assisted other
agencies and cities throughout the state on major
investigations.
Ms. Howell spoke to the Fire and Life Safety budget on
slide 21, which included a slight reduction of $80,000 from
FY 15. The decrease was related primarily to the reductions
in overtime and other staff efficiencies. There were no
changes to staff for the division.
2:59:31 PM
Mr. Vrabec addressed Statewide Services on slide 22. He
relayed that the division housed the APSIN, the Alaska
Automated Fingerprint ID System, the Sex Offender and Child
Kidnapper Registration, concealed handgun permits, and
security guard and process server licensing. He relayed
that in FY 14 the division had taken in over 3,100
individuals that registered with the unit as sex offenders,
over 62,000 finger print cards, over 7,000 handgun permits,
and other.
Ms. Howell provided a budget snapshot for Statewide
Services. There was a loss of one permanent full-time data
processing manager position, which was currently vacant.
Mr. Vrabec looked at the Scientific Crime Detection Lab on
slide 24. The unit handled all submissions from all law
enforcement in the state (the number had been over 1,000 in
the past year). He elaborated that any city police
department taking in evidence sent it to the laboratory in
Anchorage.
Ms. Howell spoke to the Scientific Crime Detection Lab
budget on slide 25. She noted there was a loss of one
permanent full-time forensic scientist position in the
state crime lab. She elaborated that the position was
vacant and focused on fire debris.
Mr. Vrabec spoke to the Division of Administrative
Services. The division handled finance, budget, human
resources, grants management, procurement, and facilities
management throughout the state (slide 26).
Ms. Howell addressed the Division of Administrative
Services budget on slide 27. The department was proposing
the elimination of one permanent full-time position; the
position was a vacant division operations manager position.
Additionally, DPS proposed the deletion of two non-
permanent positions, which were also vacant.
Mr. Vrabec turned to the Alaska Fire Standards Council on
slide 28. He noted the division director was present and
available for questions. The division was working on the
establishment of professional standards for fire service
personnel; the employees conducted training and
certifications throughout the state; he believed thousands
of certificates had been issued in the past year.
Ms. Howell communicated that there was a slight reduction
for the Alaska Fire Standards Council (slide 29).
Mr. Vrabec restated that there had been a very slight
reduction in the Alaska Fire Standards Council. He
addressed the Alaska Police Standards Council on slide 30.
The council was responsible for certifying all police
officers and Department of Corrections (DOC) officers in
the state. There were approximately 3,000 active officers
between DPS and DOC. The council also handled issues of
misconduct when reported.
Ms. Howell relayed that the Alaska Police Standards Council
was funded entirely through interagency receipts;
therefore, no reduction was proposed.
3:03:14 PM
Mr. Vrabec addressed the CDVSA on slide 32. He relayed that
the division director was present for any specific
questions. The council coordinated domestic violence and
sexual assault programs, built awareness, and provided
shelter and education for those in need.
Ms. Howell relayed that the department proposed an increase
to the CDVSA budget of $1.4 million given the department's
focus on core services and providing assistance to
individuals impacted by domestic violence and sexual
assault. The proposed funding correlated to the $1.5
million transferred from the governor's office as well as
$367,000 for shelter services, which had been previously
received through the Department of Health and Social
Services.
Ms. Howell spoke to a 10-year look back on slide 34
provided by the Legislative Finance Division (LFD). The
slide showed the department's overall share of the state
budget. Slide 35 included an LFD chart that focused on
general funds only, which included the Alaska State
Troopers budget component. She elaborated that the
trooper's component also included the Alaska Wildlife
Troopers. Slide 36 was also from LFD and included all fund
sources by budget component.
Co-Chair Neuman asked for an introduction of staff in the
audience.
Commissioner Folger introduced Colonel Jim Cockrell,
Director, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of
Public Safety and Lieutenant Rodney Dial, Alaska State
Troopers, Department of Public Safety.
Co-Chair Thompson asked if there had been an increase in
the budget for VPSO firearm training. Ms. Howell replied in
the negative.
Co-Chair Thompson asked where the Cyber Crime Division was
located within the department structure. Ms. Howell
answered that the section was part of the Alaska Bureau of
Investigations.
Representative Gattis spoke to assistance-ready reports and
response to alarms. She noted that residents in her
district did not feel there was an adequate response to
burglaries. She believed there should be follow up provided
by troopers including finger printing and other. She
wondered how it fit into the picture.
Commissioner Folger replied that a specialized Burglary
Suppression Unit that had been bolstered in the past year.
He elaborated that the unit was very successful (in large
part due to social media) and had a solve rate of
approximately 88 percent.
Co-Chair Neuman thought there were 900 calls per year from
Mat-Su. He believed about 3 to 4 percent were actual
responses annually in Mat-Su. He asked for detail. Ms.
Howell deferred the question to Colonel Cockrell.
Representative Gattis asked about the Aircraft Section and
NTSB. She was not familiar with the NTSB and what the
department had done differently to receive additional
funding.
3:08:34 PM
Commissioner Folger replied that the NTSB report had found
some shortcomings. For example, it addressed at what point
a pilot should be sent out. He believed the old thought was
"you can go out, but you don't have to come back." The NTSB
had made recommendations and the department had brought in
an external auditor to review the maintenance and safety in
the Aircraft Section. The recommendations would put
personnel in place with a focus on safety. He stressed that
aviation safety was paramount.
Representative Gattis wondered about looking to the private
sector for certain things (i.e. aircraft agencies,
mechanics, and other). She believed it was a conversation
to explore at a deeper level.
Vice-Chair Saddler wondered how many state troopers were
trained as pilots, how often they flew, and how much the
department paid to keep pilots current on instruments.
Commissioner Folger did not have the specific numbers on
hand. He believed the number of Wildlife Trooper personnel
who were pilots was around 40 to 50 percent. He elaborated
that helicopters and King Air planes used civilian pilots.
A minimum of 200 hours of flight time was needed for a
citizen to get in the door; if the department advanced the
pilot further along it took steps towards the instrument
flight rules rating.
Vice-Chair Saddler was interested to know how many of the
troopers flew for the department. He recalled that when he
had taken instrument training there were approximately 24
troopers in training. On a separate note, he pointed to a
$1.4 million transferred to CDVSA from the governor's
office (slide 33). He wondered if the funds were the
transfer of the Choose Respect funds to CDVSA. Ms. Howell
replied that the funding represented 50 percent of the $3
million originally within the governor's office for the
prior administration's initiative related to domestic
violence and sexual assault.
Vice-Chair Saddler asked about the reason for the change.
Ms. Howell answered that CDVSA was previously receiving a
majority (if not all) of the funding through reimbursable
services agreements (RSAs) through the governor's office.
The transfer would put the funding within the CDVSA budget.
3:12:17 PM
Vice-Chair Saddler remarked on the CDVSA performance
measure associated with the number of shelter nights. He
wondered about other measures showing how successful the
council was at employing the funds.
Ms. Howell replied that the department had many performance
indicators showing the work done by CDVSA. She offered to
provide the information and noted that Lauree Morton,
Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault, was present. Vice-Chair Saddler requested the
data. Ms. Howell would follow up.
Representative Wilson asked for an update on the patrol
vessel Woldstad. Commissioner Folger replied that the
original request for proposal (RFP) had different motors;
there were currently newer motors available and an
engineering report was underway to develop the RFP.
Representative Kawasaki pointed to the pie chart on slide 9
and asked what the benefits were under the grants and
benefits portion of the chart. Ms. Howell replied that the
overall budget described the category as grants and
benefits. She explained that the category related to grants
the department issued out.
Representative Kawasaki asked what the benefits portion
referred to. He thought benefits should fall under personal
services. Ms. Howell replied that it was not a benefit in
terms of health insurance. She would follow up with
details.
Representative Kawasaki looked a description of significant
operating changes on slide 11. He pointed to the proposed
deletion of four long-term non-permanent troopers as well
as 10 other trooper positions. He wondered if the deletions
were reflected in the Alaska State Troopers budget on slide
15.
Ms. Howell replied that the 5 VPSO support troopers were
included in the VPSO budget component. She pointed to a
reduction of 20 Alaska State Trooper positions on slide 15.
She detailed that 16 of the positions were Bureau of
Highway Patrol troopers, 3 were domestic violence and
sexual assault follow up troopers, and 1 vacant captain
position. She noted that the vacant captain position was
not listed on the slide showing significant changes.
3:15:26 PM
Representative Edgmon spoke to the transfer of the
governor's office of $1.5 million. He wondered if the
figure was part of the governor's 11 percent reduction. Co-
Chair Neuman believed so.
Representative Edgmon wondered what the actual reduction to
the governor's budget would be without factoring in the
$1.5 million increment. Co-Chair Neuman noted that the
governor's budget had not yet been received. He suspected
the $1.5 million would be included in the reduction.
Co-Chair Thompson asked if the department had been looking
at any revenue generating possibilities. He noted that the
City of Fairbanks was only 35 square miles. He elaborated
that individuals forfeited their vehicle to the city on
their second or third DUI offence; the city held two
auctions per year and brought in approximately $200,000. He
reasoned that the troopers had more DUIs than the City of
Fairbanks.
Commissioner Folger replied that the department had
discussed small fees related to background checks and
other; it had not discussed potential revenue from DUI
forfeiture vehicles.
Co-Chair Neuman asked that what happened to guns and other
items that were confiscated by the department. Commissioner
Folger replied that currently seized firearms were held in
inventory and catalogued. He believed the department
currently had about 1,800 confiscated firearms. The
department hoped to process the firearms for public sale or
a trade.
Co-Chair Neuman asked for clarification. Commissioner
Folger elucidated that the trade would be with a firearm
manufacturer.
3:17:56 PM
Vice-Chair Saddler pointed to a $2 million increment on
slide 13 related to rental assistance to victims. He asked
about the ultimate source of the funding and wondered if
the voucher program was authorized by law. Ms. Howell
answered that the designated general funding source was
from Permanent Fund Dividend felon funds. She did not
believe the program was in statute, but she would follow
up.
Vice-Chair Saddler looked at the number of boating accident
fatalities on slide 6. He wondered why the number had
significantly decreased in the past year. Commissioner
Folger replied that in the course of business the
department checked fishing licenses, DUI boating patrols,
and other; therefore, it had begun doing safety inspections
as well. He elaborated that the state had taken over many
of the U.S. Coast Guard functions (e.g. ensuring passengers
had lifejackets). He reasoned that it only took one large
boating accident to skew the numbers. He believed the
department had made a difference in the field. He had
instructed troopers to have no mercy when it came to
writing tickets related to safety.
Vice-Chair Saddler commented on the award winning Office of
Boating Safety program under Department of Natural
Resources.
3:20:11 PM
Representative Guttenberg looked at the department's
capital budget request on slide 13. He referred to an
$850,000 increment for domestic violence and sexual assault
intervention programs. He wondered if the increment was the
same thing as APSIN. Ms. Howell replied in the negative.
She elaborated that the capital budget increment was
specifically related to allow the Municipality of Anchorage
to continue a program holding domestic violence offenders
accountable with swift sanctions. Whereas, APSIN was the
criminal history repository for the state that contained
criminal history records and information about individuals
with warrants and other.
Representative Guttenberg wondered if the old system was
being replaced. Ms. Howell replied in the negative. She
detailed that the service was provided by the Municipality
of Anchorage with bridge funding from various entities to
maintain services. The department had provided some grant
funding to the municipality to continue the program. The
increment would provide funding in the DPS budget to allow
the program to continue. She clarified that it was not an
information system.
Representative Guttenberg wondered if APSIN was new. Ms.
Howell replied in the negative. She detailed that the
system had been in place for many years.
3:22:39 PM
Representative Guttenberg asked if the department was
upgrading the APSIN system. Ms. Howell replied that there
was no increment request for APSIN.
Co-Chair Thompson pointed to an $875,000 information
network increment for DPS in the governor's supplemental
budget. He wondered if the increment pertained to APSIN.
Ms. Howell replied that the $875,000 was a capital
appropriation the department had received a couple of years
earlier. She explained that the funds were for transitional
contractor support specific to APSIN. The department had
requested the ability to use the funds for other
information systems within DPS. She pointed to the Alaska
Records Management System and the Traffic and Criminal
software program as examples. The department relied on
contractors to assist with the programs; the supplemental
request would enable DPS to use the funds to support
contractors working on other information systems within the
department in addition to APSIN.
Co-Chair Thompson surmised that the increment was a
reappropriation. Ms. Howell replied in the affirmative.
Co-Chair Neuman asked about the success rate of a fire
suppression unit in Mat-Su. Commissioner Folger deferred
the question to Colonel Cockrell.
Co-Chair Neuman noted that the fire suppression work had
been done internally through work with the community.
COLONEL JIM COCKRELL, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF ALASKA STATE
TROOPERS, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, replied that
approximately one year earlier the department had begun a
Crime Suppression Unit in Mat-Su; it had assigned one
sergeant and three troopers to focus primarily on property
crime related to drug trafficking. He remarked that
property crimes in Mat-Su, Fairbanks, and the Kenai
Peninsula were mainly associated with illegal drug
activity. He elaborated that the success rate had been
phenomenal. He noted that the department had reduced its
overall property crimes by 38 percent subsequent to the
implementation of the specialized unit. He was proud of the
work the troopers had done.
Co-Chair Neuman pointed to a 90 percent success rate in the
prosecution of property crimes. Colonel Cockrell replied
that the unit had a positive working relationship with the
District Attorney's Office. The department had associated
the Property Crime Unit to the Drug Unit due to the
interrelated nature of the crimes; therefore, property
crimes had been solved and impressive drug arrests had been
made.
Co-Chair Neuman noted that the program had been successful
in Mat-Su.
3:26:31 PM
Representative Kawasaki noted that many municipalities had
their own police. He noted that Fairbanks and the
University of Alaska had their own police. He spoke to lean
budget years and wondered about ways the university, the
cities, and the troopers could work together. For instance,
the city would have budget cuts, which meant more for the
troopers. He wondered if calls to the troopers increased
when cities made cuts.
Colonel Cockrell could not correlate the relationship of
reductions in cities. He detailed that anytime there were
reductions to police forces the trooper call volume
increased. He communicated that the troopers worked closely
with many of the municipalities including Fairbanks;
troopers worked cooperatively with the Fairbanks drug unit
and had recently met with the Juneau and Ketchikan Police
Departments to coordinate some of the drug activities.
Additionally, the troopers partnered with the Drug
Enforcement Agency on a taskforce and with the U.S. Marshal
Service. He noted that the troopers had recently made the
arrest of an escapee in Tok, which had been led by the
Marshal Taskforce. The troopers did significant work with
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and were currently
helping the Anchorage Police Department with several
homicides; the troopers believed some of the individuals
were entering the Mat-Su Valley, therefore, it had assigned
the Criminal Suppression Unit to the case as well.
Mr. Vrabec added to Colonel Cockrell's answer. He used
Fairbanks as an example and explained that when police
departments (e.g. City of Fairbanks, state troopers,
University police, North Pole police, and airport police)
did not have a high number of staff they all partnered
together to assist with calls.
HB 72 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 73 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Neuman discussed the schedule for the following
day.
ADJOURNMENT
3:29:10 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 3:29 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DOA-DeptOverview2015_H-FIN(02-03-15).pdf |
HFIN 2/3/2015 1:30:00 PM |
|
| DPS H FIN Dept Overview 020315.pdf |
HFIN 2/3/2015 1:30:00 PM |