State Troopers of Ohio Inc.
Where We Have Been and Where We Are Going!
Thanks to all of our Patrons and friends who have supported our mission. We started our journey in January of 2022, bringing our friends from the Batchelder Company on board the following September. By building relationships with the Ohio General Assembly, we will continue to advocate for the active and retired ranks of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. A short recap of what we have worked for and where we want to go!
With the support of Governor Mike DeWine and State Representatives Haraz Ghanbari and Kevin Miller, we lobbied for an 'out-of-contract' pay increase to slow the continued loss of uniform troopers from 2020 to 2022. Most were departing for significantly better pay and benefits offered by other law enforcement agencies, an issue that needed to be addressed immediately. As a result, all uniform ranks received a significant pay increase in the months following a meeting with then Director Thomas Stickrath and our Board Memebers. Unfortunately, the Patrol is still recovering from this loss of personnel, down over 200 troopers, after achieving an all-time-high in the uniform ranks of over 1600 in 2019.
Most recently, with our lobbying agents from the Batchelder Company, we supported the increase in registration and other related fees, totally dedicated to the operational budget of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Again, achieved with the support of Governor DeWine, State Representatives Ghanbari and Miller, ODPS Director Andy Wilson and Colonel Charles Jones, this increase will allow the Patrol to reduce its dependence on general revenue funding sources (GRF) necessary to balance their budget.
For the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, with our Batch Co. lobbyist, we will be exploring the possibility of legislating the use of an indexing formula to determine future pay increases for troopers, similar to methods currently in use by the States of California and Washington. Simply put, pay scales for Troopers in these states are based on an indexed average using the pay scales of other comparable law enforcement agencies as opposed to the "pattern bargaining" method used by the State of Ohio since the collective bargaining law went into effect in 1986. Such a change would allow the Patrol to keep up with the salaries of our comparable law enforcement partners.
Finally, as we supported the recent 2026 COLA provided by the Board of the Ohio State Highway Patrol Retirement System, we will also be working with and supporting any proposed changes in the methods used to determine ADDITIONAL COLAS that will allow the Board more flexibility in the future.
