The Alaska Wildlife Trooper and the Alaska State Trooper positions have taken hits from the Fiscal Year 2016 budget cuts to the Department of Public Safety.
Lieutenant Paul McConnell with the wildlife troopers said the Soldotna branch will not receive any temporary duty assignment troopers to help during the upcoming busiest part of summer.
Lt. McConnell: “In years past we’ve had between two and six come down in July to help out. We’re not having any of those this year.”
Unrelated to budget cuts, that branch is also facing short staffing.
Lt. McConnell: “Six trooper positions in Soldotna but we only have three troopers. We’ve got three new troopers that just graduated from the academy and will begin their field training program but we won’t actually get them until March. So we will be going into summer with only three field troopers here in Soldotna, a sergeant and myself. So we will be short staffed.”
Captain Andy Greenstreet said the Soldotna Alaska State Trooper post has felt significant cuts.
Capt. Greenstreet: “The Soldotna based Bureau of Highway Patrol unit has been disbanded and has been reduced. The cold case investigator unit based out of Soldotna, that’s been eliminated along with a domestic violence followup trooper position has been eliminated. And in addition to that a Soldotna based background investigator position has also been reduced.”
The Alaska State Troopers were also forced to mothball one of their two search and rescue helicopters used throughout the state after a budget compromise was reached this year.
