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UConn public‑safety leaders urge quicker pay and benefit fixes to stem turnover across seven campuses
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Summary
University of Connecticut police and fire leadership told the committee that recruitment and retention lags—driven by salary disparities and seven‑campus coverage—are eroding service; they back HB5455 and urged earlier bargaining or benefit changes, including tuition benefits for dependents, to improve retention.
University of Connecticut public‑safety leaders testified that chronic staffing shortfalls and salary gaps with municipal and state agencies have left campus police and fire units understaffed across seven campuses.
Jean LaBonte, UConn’s associate vice president for university safety and chief of police, described high turnover: since 2020 the university hired 53 officers and lost 67, with mid‑career resignations driven largely by pay disparity. He said starting salaries elsewhere were often $10,000–$22,000 higher and that sergeant pay gaps widen further over four years.
UConn Fire Department and police witnesses urged passage of HB5455 to allow the university to modernize salary schedules and to implement recruitment tools immediately rather than waiting for a collective‑bargaining round in 2029. They recommended allowing some bargaining reopener language or other mechanisms to move compensation sooner and suggested targeted bonuses, staffing studies, and tuition benefits for dependents as retention levers.
The committee asked about mutual aid, campus coverage, and whether security officers could substitute for sworn officers. UConn witnesses said security officers help in certain roles but cannot perform the full investigatory and response duties of sworn staff and that reliance on mutual aid is limited by municipal staffing constraints.
Leaders asked for amendments that would permit more immediate implementation once salary specifications are finalized, and for continued legislative attention to pay scales and staffing levels to sustain campus public safety as enrollment and facilities expand.
