The former director of State Radio says the combining of State Radio with the state's emergency division was more of a hostile takeover than a merger.

Lyle Gallagher, who worked for State Radio from 1964 until he retired from his longtime position as director last year, said the decision to combine State Radio with the Division of Emergency Management blindsided a lot of people.

"I've served under six governors and I've never seen anything like this at all," he said. "I think the current governor has been misinformed by some of his advisers in regard to how much better this is going to be. I'm really kind of saddened by that. I think Governor Hoeven is a good governor."

The governor's chief of staff, Bill Goetz, said that while he recognizes that Gallagher worked for State Radio for many years, he is concerned that he is just trying to "stir things up" because he wants things to stay the way he left them.

"That was his operation, but things have changed," Goetz said. "It's a new day."

North Dakota's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, said it just makes sense to combine the two agencies. State Radio dispatches emergency workers around the state and the dispatch center is located in the basement of a building at the National Guard's Fraine Barracks in west Bismarck.

Haugen said this is a better arrangement because State Radio formerly fell under the umbrella of the state Office of Management and Budget, which is located in the Capitol. He said the new arrangement will improve educational and job opportunities for employees and allow the two agencies to work and plan together and eliminate duplication.

"I don't look at this at all like some kind of a takeover," Haugen said. "This is making government work better."

He said it can hardly be considered a hostile takeover when the Division of Emergency Management has about 20 employees and State Radio has about 30.

Gallagher said that over the years, the National Guard has tried to take over State Radio through legislation, but he and others resisted the idea, largely because "the only place the military controls law enforcement is Third World countries."

Gallagher said he believed that as long as State Radio was situated at Fraine Barracks, the Guard would continue to try and assume control over its operation. Some law enforcement officials are concerned about the military and a civilian agency, the DEM, having access to sensitive law enforcement information. State Radio previously was under the OMB, but Gallagher said the difference is that "The people at OMB don't carry M-16s and wear camouflage clothing."

But Haugen said those worries are "unfounded." He said the National Guard is different from active military duty. The state constitution mandates that it be under the governor's control.

"I work for the governor," he said. "I'm a state employee."

Gallagher said an interim study of State Radio was ordered by lawmakers a couple of sessions ago, and it concluded that State Radio should stay where it was so that it would remain independent and "better serve people on an equal basis."

Gallagher said North Dakota's state communications system is one of the best in the nation, and before tinkering with it, state officials should have sought input and come to a consensus. During catastrophes, emergency personnel can communicate with each other.

"You can have 50 different colored uniforms at the scene and get the job done," he said.

That's not to say that he's opposed to upgrading the technology - he said he believes digital technology is unavoidable - but he said that if it's upgraded piecemeal, the state's "interoperability" (ability for various entities to communicate) could be hurt.

He said State Radio exists today only because the state's peace officers were instrumental in its formation, and they should have been consulted on the merger so they have ownership in the system. He said he's received calls from upset, worried State Radio employees who are afraid to talk publicly about the merger out of fear they'll lose their jobs.

"This is not the way you run state government in North Dakota," he said.

But Goetz and Haugen denied that any employees have been warned not to talk about the merger or risk losing their jobs.

"That's their complete right to say whatever they want," Haugen said.

Haugen said that despite initial concern among state employees about what the merger would mean, he believes the apprehension is dissipating. He said he talked to State Radio dispatchers on three different shifts over the weekend, and "so far, everything has been positive." The first in a series of "transition workshops" was held last week for employees.

Goetz also said he's talked to State Radio employees and the work environment is good, with walls coming down between the two agencies. Goetz and Haugen said the merger will not change the way things are done at State Radio, except possibly improving technology.

Goetz said this is just the beginning of the process and that State Radio users are being consulted and will make a "tremendous contribution" to the merger.

"We just simply need to have the cooperation of all of those entities and move forward," Goetz said.

(Reach Deena Winter at 250-8251 or deena.winter@bismarcktribune.com.)