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DPS outlines staffing shortfalls; COPS grants provide time-limited relief
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Summary
Committee heard DPS lost officers in Saipan, has funded and dollar-appropriated vacancies, and relies on COPS grants that cover posts for limited periods (three years); department said 2024 COPS award funds nine positions at about $800,000 total.
Lawmakers pressed the Department of Public Safety on staffing and vacancy issues during a standing committee budget hearing, and department officials said federal COPS grants are being used to hire officers but are time-limited.
Rep. BJ Atto asked which positions were affected after committee staff noted a one-position variance in full-time equivalents reported in the governor's proposal. Director Kay Enos and Commissioner Anthony Amekronas said the department has seen significant officer attrition in Saipan: vacancies are recorded as dollar-appropriated positions but remain unfilled.
DPS told the committee it holds two active COPS grants, from fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2024. The 2024 award covers nine positions and is "a little over $800,000" in total; the department clarified the $800,000 is the full grant total and will be split across the grant period rather than paid as an annual sum. The 2022 grant will run until 2027 because the hires from that award occurred later in the timeline, the department said.
Committee members and DPS officials discussed the challenge that COPS grants generally guarantee funding for only three years; after that period the local government is expected to sustain positions locally. Committee members asked what plans exist for converting grant-funded positions to permanent local-funded posts.
Committee members also discussed whether officers assigned to Rota and Tinian are included in central DPS counts; department officials said operations are overseen by the central office while administrative reporting flows through municipal channels, complicating a single workforce total.
No formal committee action was taken during the hearing; members said they will review vacancy lists and follow up on plans to transition grant-funded positions into locally funded roles.
