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The Florida Legislature is in session. Following waves of political theatre, Florida legislators are now under the spotlight of reality. Amongst the actual, critical public safety issues is the need for budgetary changes for the Florida Highway Patrol.
Legislators should recognize the severe circumstances on Florida’s highways. Every day, motorists witness for themselves the need for many more State Troopers and better paid State Troopers. Those objectives go hand in hand. FHP cannot adequately retain or recruit under present conditions.
Any look at the facts reveals that Florida needs to urgently fix this problem – now, during this legislative session. A look at irrefutable data might encourage legislators to make that happen.
Florida has 23 million residents. There are not enough people at FHP for that population. And yet that is merely ‘tip of the iceberg’ information. Crucial fact: last year Florida had 143 million visitors. Visitors use our highways even more than residents do, and the combined figures show the gross deficiency that the State has in terms of Trooper staffing levels.
Some state officials contend that Florida cannot afford to properly invest in the Highway Patrol. The facts prove otherwise. Florida has an annual economy of $1.3 Trillion dollars. The State government budget is now over $116 Billion. A river of money flows through Tallahassee. For all state law enforcement officers and their families though, there is no such river.
Separate, independent national studies of cost of living and affordability are revealing. Florida ranks #2 in having the highest cost of living in the country, and the state ranks #49 in affordability. Shockingly, Florida Troopers’ level of compensation ranks 47th of the 50 states. Highest in cost of living but lowest in compensation. That is as embarrassing to Florida as it is unnecessary. Clearly this disconnect is at the core of FHP’s inability to retain and recruit Troopers.
There are no legitimate reasons for the continuation of this public safety and law enforcement deficiency. Just $70 million additional recurring allocation fixes all of this at FHP. A relative drop in the bucket of the State’s resources. Absolutely no increase in taxes or tolls is necessary. Florida has massive amounts of toll revenue, trust funds, and surplus funds. No political, empty cries about any possible revenue downturn changes the facts. Residents and visitors to the state already pay far more than enough to be able to expect world class law enforcement and safety on Florida’s highways.
Facts must matter. Florida has reported 7,351,621 in-state registered motor vehicles. On just Florida’s four primary interstate highways and eight auxiliary highways, the State has 1,497 road miles. That does not include the vast number of additional highways and roads that are also patrolled by the Florida Highway Patrol. In this past year alone, Florida budgeted $16 Billion for new highway construction. None of that was set aside for law enforcement on those new road miles, zero. Heavy wallet campaign contributors are massively facilitated and funded but needed law enforcement funding gets kicked to the curb. State officials have taken good care of road building companies, and vice versa.
The problem is no secret. Many motorists have become afraid to use the highways due to blatant reckless driving, excessive speeding, and road rage. Motorists notice the obvious lack of Trooper visibility, deterrence, and enforcement, due to the woefully inadequate number of Troopers.
In addition to highway law enforcement, Florida Troopers are now routinely dispatched to duty at Spring Break locations, Houses of Worship, and to assist federal and local agencies. Troopers have spent two years and thousands of working hours in Texas, for political reasons. Troopers continue to be assigned to monitor potential migrant landing areas in Florida. The newly enacted immigration duties for all Troopers had many press releases and photo ops but still had absolutely no new funding or personnel.
A legislator recently complained about the payment of overtime at FHP, even though the legislature under-staffs the Patrol to such an enormous extent as to make forced overtime assignments for the existing Troopers unavoidable. All of the additional missions take Troopers off of the highways, away from their primary obligations, and mandate that Troopers work additional shifts.
FHP has less than 2,000 authorized positions for Troopers and even those cannot be filled because of the ridiculously low level of compensation. Sheriff’s Offices and Municipal Police Departments near and far are paying substantially more than FHP. Currently a County in Florida is offering a starting pay of $20,000 more annually than FHP pays and is offering a $30,000 signing bonus. Attrition figures at FHP are bound to rise. Virtually all other states pay Troopers significantly more than Florida. Staffing up to 2,500 Troopers (minimum) is needed immediately and to 3,000 within three years. The number of positions, and the level of compensation, must become aligned with reality.
Considering the numbers of people, motor vehicles, road miles, economic facts, and the urgent need to enable and expand the FHP, it would seem that a wealthy and self-proclaimed pro-law enforcement state such as Florida would not delay one more minute in bringing its Highway Patrol up to Elite status in every way.
The men and women of the Florida Highway Patrol are up to the task and have been dedicated and diligent despite vast understaffing and under-compensation. Florida’s legislative and executive officials must work together now to truly enact and implement an Enabled and Expanded Florida Highway Patrol with the additional recurring funding to begin immediately.
The spotlight will illuminate state officials’ success or failure, as will conditions on Florida’s highways. Let’s hope that we can all applaud the outcome in a few weeks.
Paul D. Novack is an Attorney at Law with a practice focused on civil litigation. He served six terms as Mayor of Surfside, is a Member of the Advisory Council to the Florida Highway Patrol, serves on the Safety and Security Committee of the Miami-Dade County Public School system and is the Lead Investigator and Counsel for a volunteer cold case team that has solved some of Florida’s oldest cold case organized crime murders. He is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Business and the Nova Southeastern School of Law. During law school he was a journalist for Miami Community Newspapers covering local governments and public issues.
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