Appropriations committee hears state police MP‑1 reopener; lawmakers press on recruitment, retention

A tentative agreement to reopen wages for the Connecticut State Police MP‑1 bargaining unit — covering roughly 880 troopers, sergeants and master sergeants — would provide a 2.5% general wage increase effective July 1, 2025, state negotiators told the Appropriations Committee at a May 5 public hearing.

The Office of Policy and Management’s state negotiator, Eric Peterson, said the reopener “provides only for a 2 and a half percent general wage increase effective 07/01/2025.” Peterson testified alongside Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronald Higgins, Connecticut State Police Colonel Daniel Lachman and OPM budget staff.

OPM’s Peterson and budget staff and the Department said the increase follows a wage pattern used in other reopeners and that the cost is treated through the state’s Reserve for Salary Accounts. Senator Austin Walker and other committee members asked whether the RSA covers the package; Peterson and OPM staff confirmed the account would be used to fund the tentative agreement.

Committee members and agency leaders focused questions on recruitment and retention. Colonel Daniel Lachman described training and staffing: “We train our troopers to the highest standard,” he said, adding recruit training includes about 1,600 hours and substantial field training. Lachman said the capsule workforce picture includes recent graduating classes and plans to extend 66 offers for an upcoming recruit class; he also said the agency recently graduated a class of 21.

Union leaders told the committee they would have preferred a larger raise. Todd Fettigan, president of the Connecticut State Police Union, said, “I would argue we—re we deserve more than 2 and a half percent because of the stuff our members deal with,” citing operational stress and long‑term effects of traumatic incidents. Andrew Matthews, executive director and in‑house counsel for the union, reviewed pension and tier changes for new hires, and warned those benefits affect recruitment: “Prior to 2011, it was a average of your highest 3 years… In 2017, it became… an average of your highest 5 years and included a contribution to a 401(k),” Matthews said.

Lawmakers pressed agency witnesses for numbers and context. Representative Kate Nuchio and others referenced retirements and class sizes. Union and agency witnesses said hundreds of troopers left in recent years after changes to healthcare and pension calculations, and that class sizes had fallen. The union described long institutional losses and called for separate consideration of trooper hazard duty and pension treatment as part of broader retention efforts.

Committee members also asked about mental‑health supports and disability processes. Fettigan…