It turns out that we can say “no” when a Haines Highway resident calls 911 and wants a policeman.
In fact, saying “no” was the municipality’s official policy for responding to house fires out Lutak and Mud Bay roads before residents in those parts of the borough agreed to come into fire service areas.
Longtime firefighter Al Badgley confirmed this for me in a recent conversation, shedding light on an apparent misperception by the police department last fall that it was duty-bound to respond to 911 calls outside the boundaries of its downtown service area when the state trooper and wildlife trooper weren’t responding.
Badgley said there were two reasons the fire department (whose service area was limited to downtown and the area around it) wouldn’t go to house fires at Mud Bay or Lutak: 1) the department’s insurance didn’t cover response to house fires outside the department’s service area, and, 2) if the department started responding to house fires outside its service area, there would be no incentive for residents in those neighborhoods to pay for fire service by forming their own service areas.
It turns out that police protection, like fire protection, is a government service – provided in some areas and not in others, depending on the desires of residents living there – and not an inalienable right. (In addition to the Upper Highway, Mud Bay and Lutak, Excursion Inlet receives no service by borough police.)
By responding to calls outside its service district, the police department muddied up this issue. Borough attorney Brooks Chandler said a few months ago that because police responded unilaterally outside the department’s service area, officers set a type of precedent, creating a certain obligation to continue responding, at least until the borough explicitly communicates to residents that it won’t be providing that service.
More recently, borough officials said that police would be circumspect and respond only to emergency calls.
So where are we on this issue?
During a recent meeting with borough officials, some highway residents said they would like emergency response by borough police in the wake of the state’s decision to eliminate state trooper service in the town’s outlying areas. But many of those folks also said they don’t want to pay more in taxes for police to respond in their neighborhood.
(The state wildlife trooper – who has law enforcement training and authority – also recently reaffirmed that he responds to law enforcement emergencies when he is available.)
Which takes us right back to where we were about a dozen years ago, when the fire department told folks out Lutak and Mud Bay that fire trucks would not respond to their burning houses unless they first formed a service area and paid for that service.
Eventually, people living in those areas decided they wanted fire trucks to come if their homes were burning down. They formed service areas, and they’re now receiving and paying for the service.
Saying “no” was exactly the right response to residents who wanted a government service without paying for it. Who’d a thunk it?
(Posted May 4, 2017)