The president of the Oklahoma State Troopers Association released the following statement concerning the lack of a salary increase for Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers within the state budget agreement announced earlier today by Governor Mary Fallin and legislative leaders.
OSTA president and OHP trooper Keith Barenberg said, “The decision by the governor and legislative leaders to bypass a much-needed compensation increase for FY-2014 has members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol extremely disappointed and feeling underappreciated, especially given the fact the legislation passed both chambers of the legislature without a single no vote. OHP troopers have the 2nd lowest average salary among Oklahoma’s six bordering states and our training academies simply do not produce enough quality cadets to offset those lost to higher salaried law enforcement positions, the private sector and retirement. OHP is already at a 20-year low in the number of troopers serving our 77 counties resulting in troopers patrolling multiple counties alone which is extremely dangerous and increases response time. There are certainly many needs across Oklahoma, however public safety is one of the core functions of state government. Despite this very perplexing decision, the professional men and women of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will continue to work 24 hours-per-day to ensure the citizens of Oklahoma and visitors to our state are protected.”
