A legislative panel Tuesday favored a proposal that would provide Arkansas State Police commissioned officers with a 5 percent salary increase, effective July 1 -- beyond any cost-of-living adjustment or performance-based raise that may be provided in fiscal 2020 -- if more general revenue becomes available to the agency.
The Joint Budget Committee's Special Language Subcommittee voted to add an amendment proposed by state Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, to the state police's appropriation for fiscal 2020 -- House Bill 1130.
Ingram said his amendment would increase the proposed appropriation for state police operations by $2.1 million, to $98.3 million, and he is seeking more general revenue to fund the increased spending authority. The amendment would increase the proposed appropriation for regular salaries from $52.5 million to $54.1 million and for personal services matching from $28.9 million to $29.4 million.
In November, Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed increasing the agency's general revenue budget from $66.3 million to $71.6 million in fiscal 2020. The governor also proposed adding 24 new troopers over the next two years and an annual trooper school.
Accompanied by Senate President Pro Tempore Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, Ingram said, "This is something we talked about this fall, the need for our state police salaries to be competitive.
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"I told Sen. Hendren that I would do the research, if he could identify the funding stream," said Ingram, who is the Senate Democratic leader.
The 5 percent increase would go to about 515 officers in the trooper, trooper first class, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and major classifications starting July 1, if funds become available, Ingram said. There is no increase for the state police director, Col. Bill Bryant, or the two lieutenant colonels, Ingram said.
Ingram said his amendment also would require the state police to implement a salary administrative grid for commissioned officer classifications and provide a starting salary of 5 percent over the entry salary for the grade for each officer classification.
The average salary for the trooper classification of about 110 employees is about $41,237 a year, said Tony Robinson, administrator of personnel review for the Bureau of Legislative Research. The pay range for the trooper classification is from $40,340 to $58,593 a year, he said afterward.
Ingram said he wants to get the salary for the trooper classification up to about $44,000 a year to "to try to get us competitive with the surrounding states and our peer group."
The Little Rock Police Department's starting salary is $43,743 a year with a bonus structure, he said.
"From a business standpoint, I think it is important to know that in the last five years from 2013 to 2018, our turnover rate has been 38 percent," Ingram said. "We are averaging losing 27 to 29 troopers a year, and when you think about the training period to train new troopers it's a 15- to a 18-month process for troop school and training.
"The cost to train and equip one officer for the Arkansas State Police is $84,282, so by increasing these salaries, we hope the retention rate will increase as well, and we'll have a more professional force and reward these people that are putting their lives on the line for each of us," he said.
Hendren said there are several possible funding sources.
"This would increase the appropriation so that if those funds are identified, we will have the appropriation to make these changes in salary adjustments," he said. "I think that will come closer to the end of the session. But it is something that I am committed to working on, and I think others will and I will be asking for your help as well."
A Section on 02/20/2019