Haines Borough assembly debates town-site service-area budget, police staffing and snow-removal costs

Haines Borough Assembly members reviewed the town-site service-area budget April 28, focusing on police staffing levels, overtime and expanded snow-removal expenses as they consider how much of the borough’s fund balance to spend this year.

Ms. Stewart led the review of the town-site service-area budget, saying the fund’s revenue mix has shifted this year to roughly 51% from sales tax, 34% from property tax, 14% from a Department of Corrections contract and about 1% from interest. She told the assembly the town-site service area pays for three services not provided area-wide — police protection, road maintenance and animal control — and that the town-site fund balance was $1.8 million at the end of the last fiscal year and is budgeted to be drawn on this year.

Police staffing and related costs drew the most sustained scrutiny. Ms. Stewart identified the direct police payroll as $970,970 (not including dispatch) and said the police share of dispatch runs about $404,000; taken together, the police budget was described in the meeting as about $1.37 million. The budget assumes five full-time officers (the chief plus four officers) working four 10-hour days, with overtime and standby pay budgeted as part of operations.

“The standby hours are a thousand hours per officer,” the police chief told the assembly, and the department has long relied on overtime and standby pay during periods of low staffing. He noted that some incidents require multiple officers, saying, “There are certain, for instance, domestic violence. You have to have two officers respond to domestic violence.” He also said the borough has budgeted overtime hours — noting a total figure in the budget for overtime hours — and that training needs and staffing gaps have limited officers’ ability to attend required continuing education in recent years.

Assembly members pressed staff for more granular data on how many paid hours, standby hours and overtime hours were used over the past three years so the assembly can evaluate whether a staffing level of four, five or some other configuration would be most sustainable. One member suggested examining how a 20% payroll reduction might affect coverage hours and overtime costs rather than framing decisions as simply cutting an officer position.

Recruitment and retention were raised repeatedly. Members and staff noted difficulty recruiting officers statewide, long academy and field training periods for new hires, and burnout among existing staff. One assembly member said budgeting for five officers could be a pragmatic approach to avoid repeated recruitment cycles and maintain community relationships built over time.

Public works items in the town-site budget drew questions about the recent heavy snow season. Staff estimated the borough’s extra snow-removal expense this year — including contractor work and overtime — at roughly $70,000–$100,000 above a typical year, with neighborhood plowing alone near $50,000. The budget was described as generally flat otherwise, with payroll increases tied to contractual obligations.

The assembly also discussed recurring community ideas to form a separate town-site service-area board to oversee downtown services (police, roads and dog control). Staff and the chair said the idea resurfaces periodically but cautioned that Haines Borough’s large geographic area and diverse service needs make full consolidation or major structural changes complicated and potentially costly for outlying neighborhoods.

No formal vote or motion was recorded on the town-site budget during the discussion. The assembly recessed for a 15-minute break before moving to the meeting’s next agenda items.