Troopers get a raise

WASILLA — Gov. Bill Walker announced a 7.5-percent increase to Alaska State Trooper pay statewide on Wednesday at the Trooper B Detachment West post in Wasilla.

Walker was joined by Department of Public Safety and Public Safety Employees Association officials, as well as officers with the Alaska State Troopers to give his remarks.

“We want to keep them. Aside from those who are not leaving, the sheer vacancies and also creating a lot of overtime which causes burnout and low morale. This agreement, this pay increase is a good way to turn around and say thank you very much, we appreciate what you do and who you are and where you are at,” Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan said.

Walker said that the increase was the maximum amount allowed to be given by the governor, and called on the legislature to fund an additional 7.5-percent increase when they return to Juneau in 2019.

“It’s a way for us to say we take a lot of pride in our law enforcement officers in Alaska. We stand with you, we stand beside you and you deserve to be treated not just with respect, but make sure we’re competitive in what we do. We talked a lot about the fiscal situation. I’m not going to go through that today. It’s not completely fixed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fix the compensation to those that put their life on the line every day,” Walker said.

Walker mentioned HB23, which was signed into law last year as a result of two troopers killed in Tanana.

“That was quite a process to get that through. So we got it through, we signed it in Fairbanks last year, and very vivid memories of the heartbreaking testimony that were provided by the loved ones and the survivors of those officers. This is sort of a culmination of getting it right,” Walker said.

Troopers have been understaffed for some time, especially in the Valley where on any given day there may only be five troopers patrolling an area the size of West Virginia.

“Alaska and the Department of Public Safety have turned a corner that will result in more boots on the ground in rural and urban areas,” DPS PSEA Board President Doug Massie said.

Troopers have lost officers to positions in the Lower 48 as well as the Anchorage Police Department. APD’s pay is roughly 16 percent higher than AST’s over the same 10-year time period.

“I’d just like to thank the Troopers that held this thing together while they were going out without the backup they deserved, without the support that they needed to do their job safely, putting their life on the line to make sure that people in Alaska could be safer. I just want to let you know that help is coming now,” PSEA President Jess Carson said.