Radio Address: Maine Public Safety Officers Have Our Back and We Should Have Theirs

March 15, 2016

(MP3 Audio)

Being a law enforcement officer is dangerous, demanding and requires working difficult hours.

Hello, this is Governor Paul LePage.

To make the job even more difficult, wages throughout state law enforcement positions are not comparable to local law enforcement agencies or other departments in New England. Legislators agree we must pay our law enforcement agencies adequate wages so we can retain good officers and recruit qualified candidates.

Republican House Leader Ken Fredette sponsored the bill that would increase salaries by 12 to 18 percent for certain law enforcement positions in the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Marine Resources.

I think this bill should stand on its own merit. But Democrats are at it again. They are trying to roll this bill into a totally separate budget bill in an effort to spend more taxpayer money. Like the tax conformity and education funding, these are two completely separate issues and must be dealt with on their own.

We do not need another budget bill. Legislators chose to spend an additional $300 million in last year?s budget, and I do not support any more out-of-control spending at the taxpayers? expense. Legislators can either pass a stand-alone bill for law enforcement wages, or I will call them back in this summer to deal with this again. The choice is theirs.

Recruitment in law enforcement positions within State government remains a challenge. For example, the Department of Public Safety has a total of 324 Maine State Police positions with 32 positions vacant. An additional 25 members of the Maine State Police are eligible for retirement this year.

In recent years, we have seen a dramatic decrease in applicants for the State Police and only 11 successful applicants in 2015. Troopers in other New England states average $6 to $14 more per hour compared to Maine. We are also competing with local police agencies that pay higher salaries than the Maine State Police.

We are seeing similar wage parity issues in the Departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Marine Resources. Their work is vital to Maine?s commercial fisheries and hunting and fishing in our state.

I encourage our lawmakers to make the right decision and pass this bill without tying it to any other unrelated spending. Let them know what you think. Contact your legislator today to let our law enforcement community know we have their back because public safety is important to all of us.

Thank you for listening.