Steve Burns
WMAL.com
RICHMOND – (WMAL) Lawmakers are looking to address a severe shortage in the ranks of the Virginia State Police through a salary bump, but the Commonwealth remains vastly behind other states and localities in its starting pay at about $36,200. By comparison, Fairfax County’s starting pay is about $50,000.
“We’re losing State Police to not only other states, but we’re also losing them to localities,” Delegate Scott Lingamfelter tells WMAL. “They’re enticed to go to these other agencies just in order to meet their requirements for life.”
According to a State Police memo, over 100 troopers have left the force since the beginning of the year, leaving 116 sworn vacancies in the field. Exacerbating the problem was Governor Terry McAuliffe’s announcement of a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Troopers were set to receive a 3% bump, but the shortfall put that on hold. 11 troopers quit in the week after McAuliffe’s announcement, the memo says.
“(The economy) is growing at such a pitiful level, we can hardly keep up with our fundamental obligations,” Lingamfelter says. “I think there will be consensus to (raise the salary), but the pain will come when we make decisions about where the money is coming from.”
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