5 Percent Wage Hike for State Cops Pitched by Gov. Rick Scott

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Law enforcement officers on the State of Florida’s payroll might be getting a raise courtesy of a proposal floated by Gov. Rick Scott Thursday morning. Scott has included $11.7 million in his 2017-18 budget recommendations to cover a 5 percent pay raise for Florida’s nearly 4,000 state law enforcement officers.

“Since becoming Governor I have been to 32 funerals for fallen officers who died bravely in the line of duty protecting the communities we call home,” Scott said in a statement issued Thursday morning. “I’ve cried with their families and seen the pain and grief in their eyes as they laid their loved one to rest.”

Scott said the pay raise will help show law enforcement officers their service is appreciated. The timing, he added, comes on the heels of major trials for officers across the state. Citing the June terrorist attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, two major hurricanes and a tropical storm, he said the state’s law enforcement officers “were put to the test like never before. Through these times of adversity, our state law enforcement fearlessly answered the call and put themselves in harm’s way – standing strong in the face of danger.”

The pay raise would also help make Florida’s state-level law enforcement agencies more competitive with local agencies. The starting salary for Florida Highway Patrol troopers after training academy graduation is $33,977.04 in most counties, according to the patrol’s recruitment website. Troopers in Broward, Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties earn $38,976.84 a year. Those in Collier and Lee counties earn that rate, but must live and work in the counties both to be eligible.

Starting pay at local law enforcement agencies across the state is significantly higher. Deputies in Hillsborough County earn a starting salary of $44,881.20, according to the county’s website. In Miami-Dade County, police officers are paid $43,340.18 at the starting level. Deputies in Pinellas County earn a starting pay of $45,500.

Scott’s proposed pay hike would affect sworn officers who work for such agencies as the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Lottery. Employees in the state’s correctional system are not included.

Scott’s pay raise pitch is being embraced by some of the state’s top law enforcement leaders.

“On behalf of the more than 1,900 sworn members of the Florida Highway Patrol, I applaud Gov. Scott for his steadfast dedication to our state’s law enforcement and proposal for a pay raise for our sworn members,” Col. Gene Spaulding, director of the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a statement. “Our troopers work tirelessly to patrol Florida’s roadways and respond to the needs of the tens of millions of motorists that travel our roads each year.”

The directors of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s division of law enforcement and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued similar statements.

Cabinet member and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam was also quick to respond to the pitch.

“Florida's law enforcement officers put it all on the line for us, and I wholeheartedly support Governor Scott's budget that puts them first," Putnam said.

Whether the proposal will make it in the final budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year remains unclear. The state’s official budget-building process won’t begin until the legislative session starts on March 7, 2017.

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