In a move that would have been unthinkable under the past two governors, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Tuesday that he will be laying off 56 rookie troopers in a cost-cutting move.
The decision marks the first time that state troopers are being laid off since the state's fiscal crisis in 1991 under then-Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. The state has suffered through recessions, budget deficits, Wall Street losses, business bankruptcies, and economic ups and downs during the 20 years since then, but troopers had always been seen as a specialized, protected class in the state workforce that would not be subject to reductions.
"The layoffs will proceed,'' Malloy announced to reporters at the state Capitol on Tuesday following the monthly meeting of his commissioners.
Andrew Matthews, an attorney who serves as the president of the Connecticut state police union that represents troopers and sergeants, sat nearby in the high-ceilinged Capitol function room as Malloy spoke about his decision.
"Laying off 56 troopers is just an unjustifiable risk to public safety,'' Matthews said after stepping forward to the microphone.
The layoffs came because the troopers refused to take a pay freeze that had been accepted by most other state employees in an attempt to save a projected $1.6 billion over two years. After months of negotiations, state employees agreed to a package that included a two-year wage freeze, along with changes to their healthcare and pension benefits.
But the troopers voted by an overwhelming margin, 657 to 123, to reject the wage freeze. At the same time, they voted in favor of the pension and healthcare changes.
The only other group that rejected the wage freeze was the supervisors of prison guards, and they, too, have been subject to layoffs by Malloy.
By rejecting the wage freeze, troopers rejected the chance for four years of layoff protection that other state employees will receive. Over the course of several months, the troopers voted twice against the wage freeze by wide margins.
Since they rejected the freeze, the troopers received a pay raise of 2.5 percent on July 1. By contrast, most other state employees will not be receiving raises.
Upon graduating from the six-month police academy, rookie troopers at the bottom of the pay scale earn slightly more than $51,000 per year. But many veteran troopers earn large amounts of overtime and receive more than $100,000 per year.
In 1991 - the last major fiscal crisis - Weicker laid off 111 troopers. But 109 of them eventually returned to their jobs. Since then, the state has suffered from deficits, but Governors John G. Rowland and M. Jodi Rell - and the Democratic legislature - made different cuts to avoid trooper layoffs. The state even borrowed money for operating expenses, despite criticisms by some legislators, in order to avoid layoffs in public safety positions.
The Malloy administration, however, argues that any downturns under Rowland and Rell pale in comparison to the sharp economic downturn that has affected the state budget in the current fiscal year.
Capitol insiders were wondering what Malloy would do as he was faced with two unions that had defied his wishes on the pay freezes - the troopers and supervisors of the prison guards. Some state employees said that Malloy had to play hardball and crack the whip hard against the two unions because other employees had accepted the concessions and taken pay freezes.
"I think it's becoming more and more clear, every day, that when the governor says something, he means it,'' said Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy's senior adviser and chief spokesman.