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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 14, 2005 Oregon State Police Trooper Bill Matson blocks traffic on Interstate 5 near Ashland Wednesday after a three-car pileup. OSP faces a reduction of 20 patrol positions under budgets proposed in the state Legislature. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Fewer troopers Proposed cuts to the Oregon State Police budget would decrease the level of patrols to levels not seen since the ’60s By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Oregon State Police patrols would fall to a level not seen since the 1960s, under a pair of budget proposals endorsed by state legislators. Separate OSP budgets approved this month by the Senate and House would eliminate 20 patrol-division positions. If the proposals are combined and included as part of the overall budget for the 2005-07 biennium, the number of patrol slots statewide would fall to 309 — the fewest in nearly 40 years, according to OSP. "It’s a possibility, but we remain hopeful this can be resolved before the budget is finalized," said OSP Capt. Gerry Gregg, head of the agency’s patrol division. "We really don’t want to lose any more trooper positions," he said. Advertisement Layoffs likely would be avoided by reassigning patrol troopers to serve as Fish and Wildlife officers or OSP detectives, officials said. "We will have to look at it and determine the authorized staffing level of each division, but potentially, there could be 20 fewer patrol troopers on the road," Gregg said. OSP officials do not yet know if the proposed cuts would reduce the number of troopers patrolling Southern Oregon highways. "We haven’t gotten that far yet," Gregg said. Since 1980, a series of state budget cuts has steadily reduced the number of OSP patrol-division positions from 665 to 329. The agency no longer provides 24-hour patrols anywhere in the state, officials said. Included in the total number of patrol positions are troopers, sergeants and lieutenants, Gregg said. "We don’t have 329 troopers out there," he said. "It’s more like 280." At OSP’s Southern Regional Headquarters in Central Point, 14 troopers, three sergeants and one lieutenant staff the patrol division, Lt. Tanya Henderson said. In 1980, the Central Point office had 33 authorized patrol positions, according to OSP statistics. Reductions during the past 25 years have hit OSP’s Grants Pass office even harder. The office currently has 10 authorized patrol positions, down from 23 in 1980. Before state legislators convened to hash out a 2005-07 spending plan, OSP officials said they were encouraged by Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s budget recommendation to maintain 329 patrol-division positions. The governor’s proposal would have eliminated 21 detective slots from the state police budget. Both the Senate and House budget proposals retain the detective positions, but reduce patrol ranks by 20. During an interview last year with the Mail Tribune, OSP Superintendent Ron Ruecker said he believed his agency needed a dedicated funding source in order to stabilize staffing levels. Kulongoski recommended dedicating a portion of Oregon lottery proceeds to OSP, but the Legislature opposed that idea earlier this year. State Sen. Avel Gordly, chairwoman of the Senate’s special budget subcommittee on public safety, issued a news release last month stating she would support a 2 cents-per-gallon gas tax or auto-insurance surtax to help fund OSP. No formal proposal has been made. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail Fewer troopers ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Air Purifiers Advertisement s