I want to talk to you about our Minnesota State Patrol Troopers’ pay. Not so long ago, our State Troopers were the highest paid law enforcement officers in the state, that is no longer case.  Minnesota Troopers are down to about 26th on the rank of pay for law enforcement officers.

Some say this is because they can retire early at 55 years old.  Well, all law enforcement officers can retire at age 55, so that argument doesn’t work.  Others will say it is because of the medical they have after retirement.  The Troopers pay more into their retirement than any other law enforcement agency to pay for the medical from 55 to 65 or Medicare age, and they still pay the premiums.  The Troopers just get paid lower wages even though they are the premier law enforcement agency in the state.

This is unfortunate because the Troopers play a critical role in our state. When there are storms, the Troopers are out rescuing stranded motorists.  If there is a need to get medical equipment across the state, they call the Troopers.  When they needed PPE needs to be delivered due to the Coronavirus, they call the Troopers.

When the riots were burning down the Twin Cities, who did they call? The Troopers, who came from all corners of the state, off of vacation, and served with all hands-on deck. They worked side-by-side with officers from all over the Metro, despite some of those officers getting paid almost $20,000 a year more.  So why have our Troopers been so undervalued?

This primary fault is ten years of inaction by our Governor’s administrations. During the Dayton Administration and now into the Walz Administration, the Troopers’ pay has not kept pace with the raises given to the state’s other law enforcement agencies.  The link between the two administrations and any pay increase is Commissioner Myron Franz, the Commissioner of Management and Budget, MMB, and Commissioner Harrington, The Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS). Myron Franz, who takes orders from Governor Walz, has failed to support our Troopers with pay increases proportionate to other agencies during his time as Commissioner. Commissioner Harrington oversees department staff, programming, and initiatives. He should have fought harder to ensure the troopers received the adequate raise they deserved.

I have been working in the legislature to get Troopers and a raise for over two years but have consistently met roadblocks from the Walz Administration and Franz.  First, it was getting a pay study so we can show the size of the pay difference, which I believe is well over 17%.  Even when we were guaranteed that the study would be ready for the 2020 legislative session, Commissioner Franz failed to prepare or present it. Since then, the Commissioner placed the blame on the Troopers for not getting the raise. Franz believes they should have fought harder, despite being their primary impediment while also knowing they have been working without a contract for years. Despite saying our Troopers don’t fight hard enough, Commissioner Franz has acknowledged he had a solution through a two-step increase as they did for the Corrections Officers, yet he hasn’t accepted that or pushed it forward on his own. 

In the past, our Troopers used to recruit the best of the best as everyone wanted to be a Minnesota State Trooper.  Today that is not the case. Minnesota now must hire the best of the worst to be our Troopers, our top candidate pool dwindles, and those who would have previously applied now seek out other departments with competitive pay. Why does Governor Walz and Commissioner Franz treat the Troopers like second class employees?  I don’t know, but they should tell us.