FHP advocate says Florida highway trooper raises don’t go far enough

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It took years, but Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers are finally getting a raise.
 
That’s according to Florida’s newly approved $115-billion state budget. In it, base salaries for troopers are expected to increase from just over $54,000 per year to $60,000.

WATCH: “This is just an insult,” FHP advocate says Florida highway trooper raises don’t go far enough

While veteran troopers can expect to earn anywhere from 10 to 15% more each year.
 
It’s a much-needed salary hike that still falls short of Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposed 20 to 25% increase.
 
This session, Governor DeSantis has made trooper salaries a podium issue at press conferences throughout the state.
 
Still, some lawmakers call the final budget a win.
 
“I think it goes far enough,” said FL Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman.  “We will revisit next year, which starts up in September.  But we were trying to make the reserves very efficient in the expectations of perhaps emergencies and storms,” she said.
 
But Paul Novack, a member of Florida’s Highway Patrol advisory council, is less than impressed with the final numbers.
 
“No, it's not enough. It doesn't solve the problem, and, in some ways, it makes the problem worse,” he said.
 
For years, Novack has raised concerns about Florida’s worsening highway trooper shortage and the need to pay troopers more.  
 
Wages in Florida consistently rank among the lowest for troopers nationwide.
 
According to Novack, FHP remains about 150 troopers short and with more roadways to cover, more traffic to control, and more trooper responsibilities, including the Governor’s new immigration mandates, Novack believes lawmakers have failed to address Florida’s ongoing trooper crisis.
 
“To many people in FHP, this is just an insult and another slap in the face. It's not a cause for celebration, like the politicians want to make it out,” he said.

Earlier this year, we shared the impact of Florida’s trooper shortage through the eyes of federal Judge William Matthewman and his wife, Diane.   

Last year, they lost their son, David, to a wrong-way driver who had been reported to 911 by a witness minutes before the crash.
 
“If there had just been a trooper up there, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided,” Judge Matthewman told us at the time.
 
Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman represents the Matthewmans in her district and said their story inspired her to push for more funding.
 
“It did give me, like, a heartfelt face and name to the whole thing,” she said.
 
But the question remains, will this money on the table be enough to keep troopers on Florida highways?