None of the $11 million earmarked to pay for state police pay raises through enhanced debt collection efforts by the Office of Motor Vehicles has been submitted to the state general fund, according to a spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee.
Meanwhile, a confidential report prepared for legislators has been obtained by LouisianaVoice which indicates that despite State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson’s claim last January that the pay raise would not affect “upper echelon” personnel, 145 lieutenants, captains, and majors got pay raises totaling $5.3 million per year. Additionally, four deputy superintendents received raises averaging $26,170 (23 percent) each.
Seven pilots ($29,769, or 39 percent), 24 emergency services personnel ($31,247, or 45 percent), two polygraphists ($33,995, or 49 percent), and six support personnel ($25,309, or 31 percent) also received pay hikes.
The breakdown shows that 13 majors and 106 lieutenants received 46 percent pay hikes and 26 captains got bumps of 53 percent. The average salaries ranged from $108,571 for lieutenants to $136,333 for captains, the report indicates.
The largest individual salary increase was $57,252 and the largest single percentage increase was 74 percent, the report says.
State classified employees, when they receive merit increases, generally receive only 4 percent increases but those salaries have been frozen for nearly six years because of budgetary constraints.
Moreover, a separate national study released on Tuesday (Sept. 29) listed police departments from three Louisiana cities as among the worst paying in the nation, including one rated as the lowest.
Altogether, 945 state troopers, ranging from cadets to majors, accounted for more than $20 million in pay increases, thanks to two measures passed by legislators six months apart in 2015.
Unsaid in the report was the effect the pay raises will inevitably have on the unfunded accrued liability (UAL) of the Louisiana State Police Retirement system.
State senators, with minimal discussion, approved the $11 million pay increase during the waning days of the 2015 legislative session only six months after troopers received their first sizable increase. Together, the two raises boosted state trooper pay by 30 percent, according to calculations by the Legislative Fiscal Office.
The first state police pay adjustment was approved in June of 2014 but the money did not become available until the Jan. 19 increase took effect.
In the case of the second pay raise, however, the funds were committed before they were received and none of the anticipated $11 million from old tickets has been received by the state general fund, a situation that could leave the state another $11 million short if the money is not forthcoming by the end of the current fiscal year which closes next June 30.
Lines 42-47 on page 65 of House Bill 1, the Appropriations Bill, appropriates the $11 million “Payable out of state general fund by Statutory Dedications out of the Debt Recovery Fund to the Office of State Police for additional salary support for state troopers, in the event that House Bill No. 638 of the 2015 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted into law.”
HB 638, by State Rep. Barry Ivey (R-Baton Rouge), which was enacted into law and signed by Bobby Jindal as Act 414, provides that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) collect certain fees “associated with the suspension of an operator’s license” which are related to auto liability insurance requirements. The fees become delinquent after 60 days and are referred to the Office of Debt Recovery.
The bill earmarks $25 million from the Debt Recovery Fund for use by the Office of State Police. Here is the legislative digest of HB 638 (ACT 414)
But with none of that money having been yet gone to the general fund, legislators are beginning to worry.
Additionally, the state police pay increases have not yet produced additional sergeants’ positions. The report said, “State Police leadership claimed in two meetings that the agency was experiencing difficulty attracting Master Troopers who were interested in applying for Sergeant Positions.” The number of Sergeants, however, has only increased by four, from 193 to 197, it said.
Moreover, there have been only 123 promotions within state police ranks and 44, or more than a third, were from cadet to trooper.
There has been one promotion from captain to major, five from lieutenant to captain and 11 from sergeant to lieutenant, the report indicates.
Here is the BREAKDOWN OF STATE POLICE PAY RAISES
Coincidentally, even as the two pay increases combined to make state police the highest-paid law enforcement agency in the state, a national survey Tuesday (Sept. 29) listed three Louisiana cities as among the 30 with the lowest pay for police officers.
Alexandria had the lowest pay in the nation among major cities with an average salary of $31,370 per year for officers. Monroe, with an average salary of $34,000 was eighth lowest, while Lake Charles was 21st lowest in the state with an average salary of $35,320.
The State Police Retirement System (STPOL) had the smallest UAL of four state retirement systems which combined for an UAL balance of $18.588 million in 2013. The breakdown for the individual systems shows that the Teachers Retirement System (TRSL) had the largest UAL of $11.13 million, followed by the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS) at $6.25 million, the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (LSERS) at $863.7 million and STPOL at $305.4 million (up from the $166.5 UAL of 2006).
STPOL receives revenues from the state and from taxes on insurance premiums but the funding levels from the state have decreased steadily since the high of 73.1 percent of 2007 to 59.1 percent of 2013.
Louisiana Voice 
By “upper echelon personnel” Edmondson must have meant he wasn’t getting a raise himself from this. He must be the only one who didn’t.
Apparently State Police is the top priority in state government right now. As Mel Brooks and Tom Petty might say, “It’s good to be a Louisiana State Trooper.”
Stephen I know that by-and-large the S.P. do an excellent job but this is so sad when regular state classified employees have been *messed over* so badly these past few years.
And you’re right.
Thanks for posting the video, Fredster!
Okay Mr/Ms Legislator, how are you going to put this evil genie back in the bottle? Compare the pay of a LSP Trooper to that of a soldier. Who puts his/her life and limbs more on the line? Clearly the soldier. What about firefighters? What’s their death and injury rate compared to LSP Troopers? Clearly much higher. So why do Legislators bow and scrape to LSP? I think it’s because the Legislators know that they are so badly abusing their position that they are afraid of a general populace uprising and are hoping that the LSP, etc. will protect them against bodily harm. If not that, what?
jindal wanted it. As simple as that.
Why did jindal want the troopers to get a giant raise? Because jindal is a bully. Like most bullies, he is also a coward. That is why the people who protect him, and their co-workers, are over paid. That is why he rarely goes to the Capitol, but we had to spend millions we don’t have on parking area security around the Capitol. And that is just one of many reasons he is unqualified to be POTUS.
@OneStateWorker
“Why did jindal want the troopers to get a giant raise?”
I can think of another more likely possibility, but I’ll have to pose it with a question to the more enlightened, not being particularly familiar with the characters at play.
Republicans have always been fond of the ‘spoils system’, especially now as a part of their defund the left activities, which so incensed Theodore Roosevelt he sponsored laws to curtail it at the Federal level.
Questions-
1. I take it that there are no laws prohibiting removal of civil workers for party affiliation, at least those of the LSP?
2. Are the upper echelons of this organization likely to play a leadership role in garnering votes for the Republicans?
Steve….so where is the Division of Administration these days? Not too many years ago an agency would’ve been laughed out of the budget hearings to suggest using noncollectable one time money to fund recurring salaries. When state police would haul in a cash horde from a drug bust, the Division budget analyst would be calling asking for the deposit slip for the cash for the general fund. When did the Division become the “just say yes” agency? We need to channel the voice of Ralph Perlman….!
Hey, Nancy. To say this is a new world is to understate things. My best to R.
Steve…same back to you. You earned our respect the hard way, dealing daily with incompetence and making State Gov’t look good in spite of it all. Heroism like yours is absent in the granite halls of DOA. Appreciate you weighing in on this….
A conservative administration spending ghost money like drunken sailors. This should be criminal and some should be held accountable.
Is anyone really surprised? First, Mike Edmonson denied knowing about a 2014 Legislative effort to significantly increase his retirement pay at the expense of widows and orphans of past Troopers. It was later shown by his own conflicting statements that he had not only known but also previously approved the plan prior to the bill’s introduction. The bill was amended at the end of the session where no debate was allowed and then quickly passed and signed by Governor Jindal. If not for LouisianaVoice and Tom Aswell exposing it, the efforts of CB Forgotston relentlessly reporting it, and Retired Troopers coordinating news and Legislator outreach, it would have gone into effect with the Public unaware. Even Treasury Secretary John Kennedy led the fight at the State Police Retirement Board stating it would be detrimental to our State bond rating, adversely affecting all citizens. It was later declared unconstitutional after State Sen. Dan Claitor filed suit in court when it became apparent the Board would not act.
As noted in this article, Truth seems to be a lost commodity with this State Police Administration. The funding for the pay increases, if challenged might likely be declared unconstitutional as well since although passed as a fee increase was arguably an improper tax increase.
As reported by Mr. Aswell, Edmonson has allowed such things as high level appointees “retiring” to receive incentives, then being rehired and reappointed. An investigation is now being conducted on at least one State Police Command. That investigation was only initiated after the offenses were exposed by Mr. Aswell. Of course a meeting was then held by State Police Administration. However the focus of the meeting was not to ensure integrity of the Agency, but to determine who leaked the info and make sure they stopped talking. And have the Legislators reined them in? Has the Inspector General conducted an investigation? Has Governor Jindal conducted management oversight? Even after they mis-testified to the Legislators regarding the raises (when other State employees saw no increase)… what was their consequence? They received enormous pay raises. I guess political connections trumps Integrity every time.
The Louisiana Sheriffs Association which had Edmonson appointed by Jindal now wants Edmonson reappointed by whomever becomes our next Governor. That will teach those Cabinet Level Appointees they work for the citizens… Yeah!!! Why even have a State Police Superintendent if the Sheriffs control him anyway? Again, is anyone surprised? At least one of us isn’t.
The unfortunate truth of this deception by legislators who approved the pay raises is they will never be held accountable and worse many of them will be back at the Louisiana State capitol this year. They love to demonize folks who don’t support the pay increases for the LSP. Truth be told, if the LSP were receivng pay equal to city wide law enforcement and fire fighters then it would not be frowned upon by the majority of taxpayers.
Where is Colonel Edmundson right now? Oh yeah, protecting our governor in Iowa who is running for President of the U.S. and polling at 0%. Do you suppose Mike Edmundson is earning his pay increase by protecting Bobby
from?… , oh yeah, Jindal has never explained that either.
Why is it that this administration seem to be immune to any repercussions. Why is this allowed to continue. They just act like they are the Teflon Dons of the Law Enforcement. Things are thrown at them but nothing sticks. If you or I did anything like what has been done they would arrest us and broadcast our perp walk and describe how awful of a criminal we are. Double standards.
If you voted for Bobby Jindal in either of his elections you are reaping what you have sown….
Master Troopers not pursuing rank?
Sitting in the LSP cafeteria one day having coffee with a soon to be retiring Captain, a young cadet strolled by and said, “One day I am going to be a Colonel.” As the cadet strutted off, the old Captain blurted out “watch out boys there goes one dangerous human being.” It convinced me to retire as a Master Trooper where I preferred to wallow in the ditches with drunks rather than surrendering my soul for a hellacious fight to be a guard in the “King’s Palace.” To the troopers who have embraced the duty of the ” highway patrol” day in and day out, I understand why most of them prefer to remain a Master Trooper. I have had outstanding supervisors; however most were under constant stress and scrutiny from the top leadership. Many of those who rose to high ranks should have been “nipped in the bud” at the hiring level.
It was announced this morning that my agency received a mandate from the governor’s office that we will not receive merit increases this year due to the state’s financial situation….
I’d like to hear what our next governor has to say about the situation within the ranks of the LSP. So what say you John Bel? Will Edmonson and his lackeys be out day one or will you wait until the morning of day two?
I can assure you the civilian LSP/DPS employees are no where near a top priority for this adminstration. Many of us bottom dwellers of the totem pole are having to work multiple jobs to make our mortgage payments only to get peanuts in retirement, The Boys and Girls in Blue are raking in huge salaries, not to mention the extra cash they get for working LSU and Saints football games. Then, when all of this is over, get more money in retirement than most state employees get in salary, then return to work at LSP as a WAE making a generous wage, or get hired on by another police department ( hunting club dues are expensive!). I’ ve been working for the State of Louisiana for nearly 28 years and I have NEVER seen the morale so bad. People like me, who used to lover my job, now hate coming to work.
The icing on the cake:
http://theadvocate.com/news/13605105-128/no-pay-raises-for-most