Politics & Government

Rep. Terrie Wood on Huge Pay Raises for State Police Brass [UPDATE]

Nearly half a million more dollars are going to the captains and lieutenants in the Connecticut State Police department this fiscal year. State Sen. Bob Duff and now state Rep. Terrie Woods each discuss their positions on this.

Update 8:31 p.m., May 9:

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Connecticut State Police captains and lieutenants were receiving enormous pay increases—up to 56 percent—in a union agreement that had been in negotiaions for years.

The General Assembly's Appropriations Committee voted to support the contract, the wire service reported. Two lawmakers representing Darien are on that committee, and neither one is the sole legislator who did not vote to support the raises.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In response to the same list of questions sent to and answered by state Sen. Bob Duff (below), state Rep. Terrie Wood, a member of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee and a Darien resident, sent the following reply (after a second email was sent to her, again asking her to respond to the questions):

Nice to hear from you.  We are in the last five hours of the Session and it is very busy with lots of bills flying and many of us trying to get our favorites done.  An intensely busy two weeks and it will all be over at midnight tonight.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The vote in Appropriations Committee on the raises for state police was, as I recall, unanimous save for one vote.  What I remember is that we were voting on appropriating the funding for these raises. We did not negotiate the terms of the agreement. There was money in the budget for these raises.  

We felt that one of our most important duties and highest priorities is to protect and enhance public safety. As such we felt that in these difficult economic times that compensating well trained and effective officers was significant to the efforts of public safety. I also remember, too, that part of the agreement was a trade-off with fringe benefits for increased salary. 

Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Update 7:42 p.m., May 2:

State Sen. Bob Duff, a Democrat representing Norwalk and parts of Darien, and a member of the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee, responded by email to the following questions about the pay raises for high ranking state police officials:

Did you vote to approve this on the Appropriations Committee or were you not present?

Duff: There was never a vote at the Appropriations Committee

Do you support this? Why?

Duff: I support bringing salaries in line with others in relation to experience and level of responsibility

Do these pay rates seem high to you or about right? They seem higher than local police who have jobs that appear to be at least as difficult and dangerous as state police. Should state police get paid higher than police in Norwalk or Stamford?

[No answer, unless the next answer is taken to apply to it.]

One of the justifications given for this, according to the AP article, are that rates of pay for higher ranking officers were below those of lower-ranking officers who were getting in a lot of overtime. What do you think of that argument?

Duff: This is been an issue between the state police union and executive branch for many years. I believe the pay is retroactive. Since I've not been a part of the process, I can't comment further on the details.

According to the Associated Press, the Appropriations Committee did vote on the matter, in a 40-1 vote, with only state Rep. Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey of Hartford voting against.

State Rep. Terrie Wood, a Republican who represents parts of Darien and Norwalk, has not yet responded to the same questions asked of Duff, above.

Original article, 12:24 p.m.:

Higher-ups in the State Police Department are slated to get pay raises of up to 56 percent. According to the Associated Press, the deal passed automatically because the state legislature chose not to vote on the contract within 30 days of its filing.

It will be their first raise since 2008.    

"The contract did go through the legislature's Appropriations Committee," according to the Associated Press. "House members voted 40-1 in favor, while senators voted 8-0."

State Sen. Bob Duff, who represents part of Darien, sits on the Appropriations Committee. So does state Rep. Terrie Wood.

In 2011, 56 state troopers . All were officers who recently graduated from the academy.     

The raises will reportedly set the state back $458,000 in the current fiscal year.      

Position Old Pay New Pay Captain $82,000-$105,000 $128,000-$136,000 Lieutenant $73,000-$93,000 $113,600-$121,600 


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