Looming budget cuts have many state departments looking at places to save money. For the Alaska State Troopers, the current budget picture means cutting thirty positions statewide, and possibly closing the Talkeetna Trooper post. KTNA’s Phillip Manning has more:
Colonel James Cockrell, Director of the Alaska State Troopers, says no final decision on whether to close the Talkeetna post has been made, yet.
“We’re just kind of weighing our options right now to see what’s feasible and what the cost savings would be.”
If the Talkeetna post were closed, the Troopers currently stationed there would be moved to the Mat-Su West post near Big Lake. Colonel Cockrell says a final decision on the Talkeetna post will likely not be made until near the end of this month.
“My guess is we probably won’t have a firm guess until the end of March. Currently, the House has our budget, and by the end of March we should get a little bit more direction, between the House and the Senate, what our numbers look like.”
Colonel Cockrell says that the move could improve response times to parts of Willow, and, even if the Talkeetna post closes, the Alaska State Troopers intend to maintain a regular presence in the Upper Valley .
“The desire is still to assign at least one Trooper to the Talkeetna patrol area. The only difference would be is their office wouldn’t be in Talkeetna; their office would be out of Mat-Su West.”
Whether or not the Talkeetna post closes, Colonel Cockrell says the overall ability of the Troopers to respond will likely be impacted by budget cuts.
“Certainly, some things are going to have to come off our plate, and we’ll respond to ongoing emergencies and stuff, but some of the other stuff that we currently respond to we may not be able to. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to provide the current levels of services, but probably that’s not going to occur.”
The discussion of the fate of the Talkeetna post comes amidst a number of other cuts by the Alaska State Troopers. The Trooper post in Girdwood was recently closed, and the legislature’s current budget proposal would mean the loss of thirty Trooper positions and the grounding of the agency’s two primary search-and-rescue helicopters. The House Finance Committee begins hearings on the state budget this week.
