By Matt Hawthorne
In interviews this week, Haines Borough Assembly members voiced
differing reactions to statements by departing police chief Greg Goodman, who recently
faulted the local government for not confronting alcohol-related issues, for underpaying
police and undermining police authority.
Mayor Fred Shields planned to raise the issues at Tuesday’s
assembly meeting, but postponed discussion due to a busy agenda.
Goodman suggested an earlier bar time than the 5 a.m. required closure
by the State of Alaska.
"I think it would be good to have bars close earlier," said
Norm Smith, adding that he’d like to see bars close at 1 a.m. weekdays and at 2 a.m.
weekends.
"It was different when the mill was open 24-7 running two shifts
with 125 people working." Now, with the majority of people on regular schedules, he
doesn’t see a reason to have the bars open at all hours.
"Limiting the hours is a good thing for the community and
certainly for the police department." But Smith said he wouldn’t request action
on the issue unless the public demanded it.
Doug Olerud said he didn’t know bars regularly stayed open late,
but said he’d be amenable to curtailing hours if requested to by police. "If the
police chief comes requesting a change and they have valid reasons for that, I
wouldn’t have a problem with it."
Steve Vick echoed those sentiments, supporting earlier closures only if
a clear correlation were made between late bar hours and crime. "If there is a
measurable way of seeing the way closing time has (an effect) on the lack of law
abiding," he would support it, said Vick.
Pete Lapham said he didn’t support the assembly taking action that
would set earlier closure time for bars. "I think it would have to come from the
public. They’re businesses, and I’m not in support of hampering or hindering
business," he said, adding that the bars are often closed early because of a lack of
patrons. "It’s kind of self regulated by economics."
Jerry Lapp said he wouldn’t support an earlier bar time.
"There’s more control there than there is at a house party from 2 a.m. to 5
a.m.," he said.
Deborah Vogt said an earlier bar time was worth considering. She said
the police department wasn’t her area of focus on the assembly and refused further
comment on alcohol issues or police matters.
Goodman also recommended opting out of state law allowing minors in
bars with parents until 10 p.m. Smith said there’d have to be public demand for him
to support it. "I don’t think the assembly should open up a can of worms. If
there’s going to be any action, there’s going to be a public outcry."
Olerud said he didn’t know minors were allowed in bars, but would
be open to a public discussion. Lapham said he didn’t see it as an issue. Lapp said
he didn’t think minors should be allowed in bars at all.
Assembly members uniformly said they weren’t aware of actions by
assembly members undermining the authority of the police department, which Goodman said
had occurred during his tenure.
Goodman said the assembly failed to address alcohol issues. Lapham said
that characterization was too broad, and Lapp called it a false statement. "I think
the community does confront those issues. Anytime an issue has come up, we’ve dealt
with it."
Assembly members also differed in their perspectives on police pay and
turnover. Some departing officers have cited low pay in their decisions to leave. Goodman
suggested bonuses every five years to keep officers around, but Smith said money
isn’t the issue.
"The bottom line is that you could pay the guys $100,000 a year,
and they’d still be dropping like flies. He said Haines attracts people for the
quality of life, not money, and that turnover has always been a police issue here.
Vick said the pay at the department was a problem, but that he
didn’t see increased salaries as realistic under current budget constraints.
"The pay isn’t comparable to most jobs in town. We need to
look into other ways of enticing people to come here," he said, adding that regional
charms aren’t enough any more.
Vick said the time is right to research staffing options, such as a
full time seasonal police officer for busy summer months or altering benefits packages.
All of the above assembly members said they see an opportunity to open
lines of communication with the new chief and officers.
"I view this as an opportunity," said Olerud, of the 60
percent turnover at the department. "We want somebody that is willing to come to the
assembly and say, ‘This is what needs to be done.’"
Vick also saw it as a time to spark dialogue, but also called for
introspection by the assembly.
"It is a problem that he only felt comfortable speaking
afterwards. It calls for inspection. What are we doing if people don’t feel
comfortable speaking about this while they are working?"
Vogt said the recent departure of three policemen makes it a good time
to look at department staffing.
