Governor Andy Beshear’s two-year budget plan will provide millions of dollars to fund competitive salaries for Kentucky State Police, its telecommunicators, and increase the training stipend for police officers across the state.
Beshear says the state police ranks 74th in the state among law enforcement agencies for starting pay, and last when compared with state police agencies in seven neighboring states.
The Governor said his plan would change starting pay for sworn officers from about $40,000 a year to $55,000. Current sworn troopers and officers would also receive the increase.
Right now, Kentucky State Police is operating at a force of 273 fewer troopers than 15 years ago. The Governor added he sought to fund salary increases for state troopers in his last budget proposal, which lawmakers did not adopt.
The budget proposal would also increase the starting pay for dispatchers from $24,000 to $32,000. State Police telecommunicators are in the bottom 10% of the lowest paid in the state with 42 vacant positions.
Other areas included in Beshear’s public safety budget were $12.2 million for an integrated video recording system for the state police; $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to fund bonuses for essential workers who worked through the pandemic; and including an increase of $600 to be issued to all law enforcement officers in the state upon completion of their mandated 40 hours of annual in-service training.
The Governor added that in the coming weeks, he will unveil other parts of his upcoming budget that will bolster personnel in other critical roles such as social workers, corrections officers, and youth workers, as well as educators and state employees.
