Ask the PBA

[Unregistered]

Hi Matt,

Just checking if the salary increase is still alive in the house?

Ha Ha ROTFLMAO.
Nothing for the FHP is "alive" in either the house or the senate.

[Unregistered]

the House wants 400 million plus in tax cuts.

[Unregistered]

Matt,
Why wasn't Manatee County Troopers included in the list? They work as many or more than those assigned to the listed areas.

[Unregistered]

Ha Ha ROTFLMAO.
Nothing for the FHP is "alive" in either the house or the senate.

I'm actually shocked they appropriated any raises what so ever.

[Unregistered]

Mr. Puckett doesn't have time for this board anymore. Perhaps he has a special board for the motor units, K9, misdemeanor teams etc, certainly you have better new to bring to them.

[Matt Puckett]

I have heard from a number of Troopers about the special session budget outcome and I hope to hear from more after this post.

The governor has signed the budget as of today so on July 1, the increases for critical market pay and the increases for special duties will come into effect. I do not know if all of the special duty positions listed will receive the increases immediately. That language was permissive so I assume it will be subject to availability of funds.

I understand there are many Troopers who are upset about this allocation and you want explanations about why it happened this way. Perhaps I can shed some light for you. First, this proposal was part of the legislative request the agency put forward this year. The PBA put forward an across the board pay raise for all Troopers. We discussed the agency's proposal and agreed to support their proposal and they would support ours. Our raise did not gain much traction obviously. We kept pushing for it, but it never seemed like we would see it in the final budget. The agency's proposal was paid for with existing agency money which made it a reasonable sell to the legislature. Even with the existing dollars, I know the agency worked hard to get the appropriation.

i assume the question is why didn't everyone get something. Very fair question and my answer is that the Legislature did not allow funding for everyone. The agency identified markets in need of additional funding and added funding for specialty duties to make the agency more attractive and competitive. Many have asked me how come the road trooper was ignored and my answer is because the legislature did not fund our raise request. I have also been asked about shift differtential which I believe is a great question. Perhaps we can work on that or a variation of it in the future, but again that does not provide for everyone equally.

I have been asked why we supported this proposal, along with our own. That's an easy answer, we will not turn away money, or worse fight against it. We have a long ways to go to make up for the years of goose eggs. We were on a nice roll, too. I think it is important that legislature funded the agency's plan and I really like that the agency put forward a plan to use existing funds to help Troopers. Just imagine if both proposals had worked out. We need to work together with the agency keep gaining salary increases.

Finally, I fully understand the frustration and I apologize that we were not able to get raises for everyone. The legislative process can be difficult to accept and quite often unfair. I will not make excuses for not getting it done, this year, I only hope I can earn your confidence back as we move forward.

[Matt Puckett]

Mr. Puckett doesn't have time for this board anymore. Perhaps he has a special board for the motor units, K9, misdemeanor teams etc, certainly you have better new to bring to them.

I have been away from this board for quite sometime. I find it a lot like Facebook which I also need to take extended breaks from. You can always email me at matt@flpba.org if you have a question.

[Matt Puckett]

Matt,
Why wasn't Manatee County Troopers included in the list? They work as many or more than those assigned to the listed areas.

I think it has much to do with turnover and difficulty in recruiting Troopers to those six counties. There are several other counties that could use the funding, too. Again the agency had to use existing funds and that played a role in their decision.

[Matt Puckett]

Does it seem odd to anybody else that the PBA has basically stopped responding to posts. Furthermore, they seem to be very quiet on any pay raise legislation or their effort to get one passed.
I for one cannot believe the PBA can be as disconnected from FHP as it is and still be our union.

I put out a weekly Capitol Report that over 900 Troopers receive each week via email during the session. I have no problem posting information on this board, but I have felt like for those want it, the emails are working.

[Unregistered]

Thank you Matt, a lot of us know the hard work that you put forth and that the legislature is very unfriendly to the road troopers