The FY-17 budget agreement passed by the Senate Wednesday and awaiting action in the House will bring about immediate additional cost cutting from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety including the suspension of recruitment efforts for the 65th Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy, further placing the citizens of Oklahoma and OHP troopers at risk.
Ricky Adams, Chief of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said “The backbone of Oklahoma law enforcement is the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and a well-trained uniformed trooper protecting our communities, citizens and roadways. This budget could place public safety in jeopardy and place lives at risk. Our work force has been shrinking for several years and further cuts will force the OHP into a purely reactionary agency. The decision to suspend the 65th Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy is one of simple math as it is simply not responsible to hire and train new troopers without the budget to support them. With furloughs and a potential reduction in work force, we do not want to negatively impact young cadets and their families. The bottom line is that without an increase in funding it will be 2018 before any future trooper academy could be considered. Currently, 26% of troopers are eligible to retire and normal attrition will drop our staff levels below 750 by 2018, a level not seen in decades.”
According to Gerald Davidson, Assistant Commissioner for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, several options are being considered based on the proposed budget. They include but are not limited to:
Voluntary buy outs for employees, resulting in diminished service to citizens
Possible furloughs if buy outs, operational and other personnel cuts do not make up the shortfall
Driver license examiner positions not filled, resulting in longer lines at exam sites
The expansion of the 800 MHz radio system suspended, delaying communication interoperability among first responder agencies
The modernization of the DPS mainframe computer system in jeopardy of being suspended, preventing the DPS from providing greater on-line services to citizens
Various administrative support positions not filled, resulting in processes taking longer to complete in turn negatively affecting services to the public
Equipment, ranging from OHP vehicles to electronic devices, being used beyond their normal service life, resulting in higher maintenance costs and the inability to take advantage of technological advancements to realize a more efficient and effective business model
“As I have stated often the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is responsible for patrolling over 112,000 miles of city, county and state roads and highways, over 600 miles of turnpikes and over 4,300 miles of shoreline,” said Keith Barenberg, OHP trooper and President of the Oklahoma State Troopers Association. “I urge the legislature and Governor Fallin to protect the safety of the public and troopers by revisiting this budget agreement in order to hold OHP harmless from further budget cuts.”
