Utah governor releases $16B budget plan for upcoming year
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday released a $16 billion budget plan for the upcoming year that tries to stem high turnover among prison guards and corrections workers and pay for 10,000 more students in Utah schools.
The governor's budget includes $1.5 million to increase pay for state troopers, $1 million for trooper safety equipment and body cameras, and $750,000 to help the state crime lab manage evidence and speed through its workload.
Herbert's also asking for $7.6 million to boost salaries for workers at the Department of Corrections and try to curb turnover among corrections officers by raising pay for skilled, experienced and promoted workers.
Public and higher education make up about $4.5 billion of the governor's plan, including an extra $116 million to local school boards to use to increase K-12 teacher pay or for professional development, technology and early intervention programs.
State environmental and agricultural officials spent the summer grappling with a massive outbreak of toxic algae on Utah Lake, a bloom that sickened more than 100 people and left farmers scrambling for clean water.