 "Photo: Asher Swan")
Many highway patrollers may lose thier jobs by the end of the year because of statewide budget cuts.
Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, said all state departments, except public education, will receive a 5-percent budget cut if the proposed budget cut bill passes. The exact numbers and departments affected are subject to change.
Stowell said his biggest concerns with the proposed budget cuts are the cuts to higher education and the Highway Patrol, which will likely result in 29 highway patrollers losing their jobs statewide.
Col. Daniel Fuhr, Utah Highway Patrol superintendent, said about 70 percent of the Utah Highway Patrol’s time is dedicated to responding to crashes and 30 percent is spent on looking for drunk and aggressive drivers.
“If we lose those troopers our time will go almost exclusively to responding to accidents,” Fuhr said.
Fuhr said Utah legislators said they believe public safety is important and do not want to see it cut.
Stowell said he was concerned about cutting funds for these two departments. “Law enforcement is the very core of the government,” he said.
Stowell said after the jobs are lost, there will be about 390 patrollers on the interstates.
Fuhr said the state’s population has doubled since 1980 and there are 38 percent more cars on the road than in 1980, however, there are only 420 troopers on the roads, as many as there were in 1980 and only eight of those patrollers are covering Washington and Kane counties.
“If tobacco tax is increased then cuts to Higher Education and the Highway Patrol can be prevented all together,” Stowell said. “I voted for the tax increase. It was very difficult for me to vote for a tax increase, especially in these difficult economic times.”
Stowell said cutting budgets is an unsustainable path that will have negative long-term consequences.
Fuhr said one-third of all impaired drivers in the state and 90 percent of illegal drugs are picked up by the Highway Patrol. “With fewer numbers, these things will slip through the cracks and response time to accidents will increase dramatically,” Fuhr said.
Iron County Chief Deputy Rick Evans said Iron County has not been affected by state budget cuts yet.
Evans said if the 29 highway patrollers do lose their jobs it will add more responsibility to Iron County.
“Our men will have to pick up the slack and cover more of the interstate. We’ll be the first responders in the event of an emergency,” Evans said.
He said citizens can help ease the Iron County Highway Patrol’s burden by reporting anything illegal they see.
“Call things in, drive safely, and slow down in bad weather,” Evans said, “That’s the best ways people can help us out.”
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