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Western Ky. Judge-Executives Talk 'Pay the Badge' Initiative in Frankfort

Lyon County judge-executive Wade White

A pair of western Kentucky judge-executives met with Gov. Matt Bevin Wednesday ahead of his first budget request to discuss an initiative aimed at securing pay increases for state police and correctional officers.

Lyon County judge-executive Wade White - a Republican - and Democratic Trigg County judge-executive Hollis Alexander made the trip on behalf of White’s Pay the Badge effort. White is calling for yearly raises for state troopers and says a high correctional officer turnover rate coupled with $5.3 million yearly in overtime is unsustainable.

White said the meeting with the governor went well.

“Being a businessman, he completely understands that sometimes it’s more expensive to not pay people what they’re worth because of the constant turnover and all the time that’s got to be spent on that, the morale and danger to public safety," White said.

White said Kentucky State Police troopers should be in line for a proposed $5,000 raise and that $10-13 million should be added to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet budget to better pay the state’s prison employees.

“We want that to be in his budget," White said. "If it’s not in there, there’s still a possibility that the legislature could put it back in, but, boy, it would sure help if it was in the governor’s budget.”

Bevin’s budget is due January 26. For more information about the Pay the Badge campaign, click here.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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