Both the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and Rendell administration are making reasonable points in the debate surrounding a stalemate over giving civilians several dozen jobs currently performed by troopers.

But both sides need to find windows for understanding and compromise so a settlement can be reached without prolonging the disagreement much longer. There is much at stake.

The basic premise about what the administration is proposing is well within the bounds of reason. "Civilianization" of some current trooper positions not actually related to law enforcement would make more manpower available for traffic patrols and crime-fighting activities.

Under a study released in 2001 by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, it was determined that troopers could be replaced by civilians in 68 jobs, including as ballistics, document and latent examiners, procurement and supply officers, troop communication specialists, and as district office commanders in the bureau of liquor control enforcement.

Nevertheless, the association has a valid concern in wanting to resolve old, unfinished points of disagreement before tackling this new issue. The union has a right to use the unfinished business as a bargaining chip.

Gov. Ed Rendell and the union must weigh the advantages against the disadvantages of maintaining their current stances.

The old issues, which deal with health-care benefits, revolve around the four-year contract that an arbitration panel crafted last December. The troopers union contends that the administration has been dragging its feet in settling the disputed items.

"They had no time for us on that, but they have all the time to spend on this (civilianization) issue," said Bruce Edwards, PSTA president.

There also is an unfair-labor-practice filing at issue involving moving as many as 45 corporals from the roads into desk jobs.

Regarding the civilianization issue, State Police Commissioner Col. Jeffrey B. Miller told a Senate panel on Oct. 17 that "we have offered our plan in writing and have reached out on a number of occasions to the PSTA, but PSTA has not been willing to come to the table to work out a plan."

With both sides obviously to blame for the civilianization stalemate, it would behoove the governor and Edwards to sit down face to face and discuss the two sides' differences, with the goal of getting meaningful talks under way.

At stake in the stalemate are new positions that the General Assembly authorized in July in a $15 million effort to beef up state police patrol activity. Of that total, 120 would be new trooper positions; the other 60 would be current troopers who would be replaced by civilians in jobs not actually related to law enforcement, including forensic analysis.

Ninety new troopers were immediately authorized. The remaining positions hinge on an agreement between the administration and troopers union on how to turn over to civilians the jobs in question.

For Rendell, it should have come as no surprise to hear union officials agree with the goal of relieving troopers of tasks unrelated to law enforcement but at the same time suggest that the best solution would be to hire more clerical help without displacing troopers who are experienced in highly specialized fields. That is a routine stance unions take in resisting proposals that would result in them giving up positions.

But bolstering the ranks of troopers doing the kind of work that troopers do best is in the best interests of all Pennsylvania residents, including the state's 4,000-plus troopers.

"The bottom line is that the highly trained, professional men and women of the state police should be using their expertise where it is needed — fighting crime and protecting citizens," Miller said.

Both sides need to budge from their current stubborn stances. There is a middle ground to which both can move to reach an accord on all outstanding issues.