Skagway committee recommends up to $25,000 budget amendment to start narcotics K‑9 program

The Skagway Public Safety Committee recommended that the assembly approve a budget amendment of up to $25,000 to fund a narcotics K‑9 program, the committee chair said. The recommendation will be presented to the full assembly at its next meeting.

Chief Reddick said an initial 2023 audit projected a K‑9 program could cost $150,000–$200,000, but subsequent research identified a narcotics detector dog package and training that reduces start‑up costs to under $25,000. He told the committee a narcotics detector package alone is about $11,815 and that annual maintenance and certification could run “less than $5,000 a year.” He described the proposed dog as a narcotics/tracking dog — not a patrol or bite dog — to limit liability and focus on interdiction.

The committee discussed funding routes and oversight. City manager Emily Deitch Westcott said the department can reallocate some existing budget lines administratively or carry a formal budget amendment to the assembly. Committee members agreed a departmental policy and administrative approvals should accompany any funding to define oversight and operational parameters.

Reddick described regional partnerships and operational scope: the Southeast Drug Task Force (CCAD) and other Southeast chiefs have expressed willingness to use the dog for coordinated operations, and the dog could be deployed for open‑air sniff operations at ferry terminals, seaplanes and other transit points. He noted that open‑air sniffs are treated in case law as non‑searches and that a certified dog alert can produce probable cause for a consent search or a search warrant application; yearly NNDDA recertification was described as part of the maintenance plan.

Dan (Chair) moved the committee recommendation; John seconded. The committee voiced assent and the chair said he will bring the recommendation to the assembly on Thursday for formal action.

Next steps: the committee will present the recommendation and cost breakdown to the assembly for formal adoption and consider an accompanying department policy that sets program scope, training/recertification standards, and use cases for regional cooperation.