The Vermont State Troopers Association will get a 2.5 percent raise under a new collective bargaining agreement.
In a contract negotiated between the association and the Shumlin administration, the troopers will get an across the board bump effective July of this year.
The union represents some 270 troopers and sergeants. The contract follows on two years when the troopers did not receive any raises, according to Mike O’Neil, who heads the association.
“We thought it was a fair agreement,” O’Neil said by phone on Thursday.
As of last week the agreement had been ratified but not yet signed by either party, according to a statement from the Human Resources Department.
Under the new 87-page contract, pay rates for members of the union range from $17.43 to $36.64 per hour.
O’Neil said that in negotiations with the state, which concluded in December, his goal was to match the 2.5 percent raise that members of the Vermont State Employees Association had secured in contract negotiations for 2015.
“It went very smoothly, it wasn’t difficult,” O’Neil said. “We were just looking to get the same thing that VSEA got.”
However, the raise for troopers comes as budgetary restraints are poised to take a toll on other state employees. The governor’s office is looking for workforce savings across state agencies to help heal the state’s budget deficit, which now rings in at more than $110 million.
The Vermont State Police are set to receive a total of $58.88 million in the 2016 budget, primarily coming out of the general fund and the transportation fund. Overall, the department is getting about $100,000 less than last year.
Earlier this week, members of the VSEA called for the administration to find a different way to find funds besides cutting state workers.
According to estimates from the Joint Fiscal Office, between 150 and 200 state employees could be laid off to meet budget needs.
The VSEA represents lieutenants in the Vermont State Police.
On Thursday, Doug Gibson of the VSEA had a positive reaction to the news for the troopers.
“We were pleased they were able to get the same agreement we did,” Gibson said.
