40 state troopers sworn in at Capitol
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/230444/
Forty state troopers took their oaths of service Thursday in a ceremony at the state Capitol, raising the number of state troopers in Arkansas to about 550.
They will be the last group of new troopers for at least a year if a state budget cut for fiscal 2009 remains.
Gov. Mike Beebe said Thursday that the economy in Arkansas may not be as bad as anticipated and that the budget could be restored in the coming months.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said his agency is continuing to interview trooper applicants with the hope that the budget cut will be reversed.
“We need to be prepared should the word come down,” Sadler said.
Starting salary for new troopers is about $ 36, 000 a year with some eligible for additional pay after being sworn in.
Of the new troopers, 20 were already certified law-enforcement officers and have completed a 12-week course in the classroom and practical training. The other 20 completed a 21-week classroom course and practical training.
They will work with fieldtraining officers for six to eight weeks before being released for assignments at posts throughout the state.
For fiscal 2009, which started Tuesday, the agency’s budget was cut from $ 61. 8 million to $ 59. 1 million.
The agency previously has said that because of that a 25-member trooper training school planned for next fiscal year has been eliminated, 47 positions in the agency won’t be filled, and other administrative and program expenses have been cut.
Sadler said the new troopers were hired in fiscal 2008 and thus those positions were unaffected by the 2009 cut.