Haines Borough Manager David Sosa and Police Chief Bill Musser are asking the assembly to authorize a $22,000 review of the police department by an independent consulting firm.
The assessment, by Soldotna-based Russell Consulting LLC, would review the department’s policies, procedures and practices. Consultants would observe department operations first-hand, interview staff, and ultimately provide a “scorecard” report reflecting the discrepancies between desired and provided services.
“An ideal time to have conducted a review such as this would have been after the departure of the last chief,” Sosa said. “Conducting a review at that time would have provided an incoming chief with a thorough assessment and provided a way forward with established benchmarks for evaluation. Unfortunately, this did not occur and the level of turnover on the force has been such that an internal review has been difficult.”
The assessment also ensures the department is operating to best standards and guards against liability, Sosa said.
Russell Consulting is the same firm former manager Mark Earnest recommended hiring in March 2013 amidst complaints about former police chief Gary Lowe’s behavior. The assembly took no action on Earnest’s recommendation.
Police chief Musser said he is requesting the assessment to identify areas of strength and weakness in the department to better direct and plan for improvement. The review also will allow him to gauge whether his understandings of the department priorities are on track, he said.
Musser’s one-year probationary period ends Feb. 27. Sosa said the external review is not about Musser’s job performance.
“This is about public safety and public security. There are challenges with public safety in Haines that go back years and that will take time to correct. My personal belief is that in the past, previous managers were not focused on the department and failed to exercise managerial responsibility for the chief and the department,” Sosa said.
Assembly member George Campbell said he believes the probationary period’s expiration is what likely triggered the external review idea. “I think the fact that the probationary period was up was how (Sosa) got onto this consultant. Honestly, it sounds like a fair way to judge,” Campbell said.
Campbell said he thinks having an objective eye on the department is a good idea.
“I can’t name a person in our community that I would trust to say this is how to fix the police department. Everyone in the community has an axe to grind with the police,” Campbell said.
“The community is not happy right now,” he added. “They haven’t been happy for a long time, but there have been some issues that are causing mistrust in our community.”
Campbell pointed to the recent spate of vehicle thefts and break-ins as sources of community unrest and dissatisfaction with the department. The lack of charges and convictions doesn’t sit well with people, he said, but the external assessment might help identify why cases aren’t moving ahead.
“Are we not getting convictions because the police aren’t doing their job well enough, or are we not getting convictions because the district attorney is not doing their job enough? That’s one of the questions that needs to be asked,” he said. “Obviously, doing what we’ve been doing isn’t working.”
Sosa said he believes Musser has addressed problems in the department, but there’s still room for improvement. The manager, assembly and public safety commission also have roles to play in ensuring public safety, he said. The public is also a key participant.
“For our community to function effectively, the public should be aware of the law, obey the law – all of it, not just the elements they agree with – assist our officers and our department, and communicate their concerns. In some members of our community, this is not happening. In a community of this size, it is impossible for many residents, among them residents with no likelihood for committing crime, to not know who our criminals are. We all know that knowing and proving are two different things and it will take a willingness to come forward on the part of residents to address these issues,” Sosa said.
According to the proposal submitted by Russell Consulting’s president Greg Russell, the assessment would take about seven to eight weeks to complete and consist of 125 hours of work. The company’s work would be billed at $175 per hour.
If approved, the $22,000 would come from the townsite general fund, which has a balance of $1.5 million, Sosa said.
He added that “in reality, an assessment like this should be completed every two to three years to ensure that the department is focused on its mission and to guard against liability.”
The $22,000 for the assessment is bundled into a larger budget amendment ordinance set for a public hearing at the Feb. 24 assembly meeting.