San Antonio City Council approved a new three-year contract with the city’s police union Thursday, committing more than $102 million to higher wages and other benefits for officers while shifting some of the growing cost of healthcare onto employees.
Council voted 10-1 to approve the collective bargaining agreement with the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association, with District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez casting the lone dissenting vote.Â
The contract takes effect Oct. 1 and runs through September 2029, replacing the current agreement before it expires at the end of the month. Union members ratified the agreement with 61% approval on Aug. 31.
The agreement comes as San Antonio is trying to close a projected $158 million budget shortfall over two years, putting additional scrutiny on one of the city’s largest expenses.
The police agreement itself will cost an additional $15.4 million in the first year, $28.9 million cumulatively by fiscal year 2028 and $57.9 million in fiscal year 2029. The fiscal year 2027 cost is already included in the city’s proposed General Fund budget that will be finalized later this month.
Beyond compensation and healthcare, the agreement makes changes to how patrol officers are scheduled, disciplinary procedures and a range of other benefits and working conditions negotiated between the city and union.
Higher wages, higher health costs
The biggest piece of the new contract is officer pay.
Officers will receive a 4% across-the-board raise beginning Oct. 1, followed by increases totaling 5% during fiscal year 2028 and another 7.5% during fiscal year 2029 — a 16.5% increase over the three-year agreement. The city estimates those wage increases will make up $101.7 million of the total $102.3 million price tag.
Officers who work certain shifts will also receive an additional $100 in incentive pay, while officers regularly assigned to weekends will become eligible for an additional $50. The contract also restructures additional pay for officers who train new recruits. Altogether, changes to incentive pay are expected to cost the city $10.8 million over three years.
City officials estimate that additional changes to healthcare plans that will require officers to take on a greater share of their healthcare cost would offset the incentive pay costs by $10.3 million.Â
Those changes include officers paying higher deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket costs under the city’s two health plans. Additionally, some officers who cover dependents under the city’s high-deductible plan will also begin making monthly contributions toward that coverage.
The agreement makes other changes intended to control healthcare spending, including prescription drug costs and removing coverage for non-emergency care at freestanding emergency rooms.Â
Council members broadly supported the additional spending on officers, with several pointing to compensation as important to retaining and recruiting police.
“They deserve to be paid and paid well for all the work that they do for our citizens,” District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte said.
Changes to work schedules
The agreement also changes when patrol officers will work, with the city seeking to better match staffing with when officers are most needed.
Deputy City Manager MarĂa VillagĂłmez said the city developed the new schedules after examining when calls for service occur and what type of calls come in at those hours.
“That will allow us to overlap our officers in those days of the week and hours of the day where we experience most calls, but also the most violent type of calls,” Villagómez said.
SAPD currently staffs three eight-hour patrol shifts covering the morning, evening and overnight hours, along with a separate 10-hour shift that runs from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Under the new contract, that separate 10-hour shift will be eliminated. Instead, officers assigned to each of the three main patrol shifts will have eight- and 10-hour schedules that overlap at different points throughout the day.
Discipline and other changes
The agreement also changes the disciplinary process for officers who face criminal proceedings at the same time as an internal SAPD disciplinary case.
Officers will be required to notify the police chief when the underlying criminal matter is resolved and within seven days of filing a petition to have any related criminal record expunged. The change is intended to give the city earlier notice when an expunction could affect records being used in an officer’s disciplinary appeal.
First Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Provencio said the change is intended to protect records that could be relevant to an officer’s administrative appeal in cases where resolution of a related criminal case could result in those records being destroyed.
The contract also creates a pathway for former SAPD officers who left the department in good standing to return within two years.
Other changes include expanding bereavement leave to officers or their spouses who experience a miscarriage, provide more flexibility for officers who delay retirement and cover education-related expenses for officers pursuing medical certifications related to their duties.
