SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio and the union representing its police officers traded proposals for officer pay Thursday, though a significant gap still remains.
The union wants biannual raises to pump up officer pay by 20.5% over the course of a new three-year contract. The city has now gone as high as 14.8% while proposing a similar series of raises.
The gap amounts to a more than $3,700 difference in the potential yearly pay for a rookie officer at the end of the contract, and a more than $7,900 difference for the most senior captains.
Pay has been a sticking point in the current negotiations. At one point, the union paused the talks because of a previous city offer the union’s former president described as a “slap in the face.”
The union says it needs bigger raises to compete with other big Texas departments.
“These are the people you call when you need assistance. You want the highest caliber individual that you can get. We just don’t want to check a box with individuals coming in,” Sgt. Christopher Lutton with the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) negotiating team told KSAT.
However, the city says San Antonio Police Department officers are already competitively compensated when total pay and benefits are factored in.
“Compensation is not just the base pay, but we’re also looking at some of the incentive pays and, of course, healthcare as well. So all that combined will make that final compensation packet,” said Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez.
The city is also heading into a tough budget year, which is expected to involve cuts and possibly a property tax increase. Staff hope to negotiate a deal before they present a draft budget to the City Council on Aug. 13.
The city and union began negotiating a new contract in late January and have settled a number of other matters in the contract, like hours of work.
Pay and other issues, including health benefits, still need to be nailed down, but both sides expressed cautious optimism they could be closing in on a deal soon.
Any deal reached at the negotiating table would need to be accepted by both the union membership and the San Antonio City Council.
Even if a new deal isn’t reached by the end of the existing contract at the end of September, an evergreen clause would keep the current terms in place for up to eight years.
They are scheduled to meet next on July 16.
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