Despite projections of a looming $220 million budget deficit, Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Friday unveiled a tentative contract with the police union that would give rank-and-file officers raises totalling 36.5 percent over five years.
If approved, the contract would cost taxpayers an additional $76 million in 2026, and $832 million over the life of the agreement.
The police department budget this year topped $1.07 billion.
Houston police will receive “the best (benefits) package in anyone’s memory,” Whitmire said at a new conference with Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz and Houston Police Officers Union President Douglas Griffith.
How the city will pay for the deal, however, will remain unclear until he presents his budget proposal next week.
RELATED: The city’s police contract negotiations are focused on pay and benefits, not performance
City leaders for months have projected a deficit of more than $220 million in the upcoming fiscal 2026 budget, stemming in part from last year’s $1.5 billion contract and backpay settlement with the firefighters’ union. Whitmire on Friday said he will present a balanced budget proposal on Tuesday.
Efforts to reduce the projected deficit include a voluntary retirement incentive package offered to municipal employees, implementation of efficiencies identified in a citywide operations study and consolidation of departments, Whitmire said. He also has worked with Harris County, the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Texas Legislature to secure additional revenue and project funding.
“It was always frustrating to me to sit there and listen to other elected officials and maybe even outside critics,” Whitmire said. “They were saying, ‘How are you going to fund this?’ Fund what? The old model that we knew was broken or the new model which you’re seeing going in operation now?”
Controller Chris Hollins must certify the city has enough money to fund the proposed budget, and City Council must approve the spending plan prior to the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
A spokesman for Hollins said the controller’s office was not briefed on the details of the tentative police contract Friday and could not provide comment on whether it represents a good deal for the city.
Whitmire said he and the union approached negotiations with the same goal of gaining “the very best” deal for the officers. Taxpayers, Whitmire said, will applaud increased officer pay because they want funds to go toward public safety.
Griffith said the raises will make it easier for the department to recruit and retain officers. The city approved an extra $10,000 incentive package for graduating recruits last year, but Griffith said Houston still acts as a training ground for new officers before they obtain higher paying jobs elsewhere.
Under the proposed contract, base pay for first-year officers will increase to $75,000 and could go up to $81,600 with shift and weekend differential pay. Differential and seniority pay for patrol officers also will increase under the agreement.
Increasing base pay has not equated to better recruitment in Austin, which last year approved a 28 percent base pay increase over five years for officers, Whitmire acknowledged. Still, the mayor said he anticipates Houston’s morale and working environment would attract officers to the city.
Officer pay is not tied to department performance, administration officials acknowledged in April. The citywide efficiency study Whitmire has used to identify budget cuts also outlined that the police department as a whole is meeting just over half its performance metrics.
Following the news about the coming raises, Whitmire said officers are ready to “double down.”
Whitmire frequently has pointed to the results of the same citywide efficiency study as a reason not to raise the city’s property tax rate or increase fees to eliminate the projected deficit. The city has retained the study’s authors, the Ernst and Young accounting firm, to help implement changes over the next 18 months.
So far, the city has rolled out a hiring freeze across municipal departments, excluding police and fire, and accepted buyouts from 1,057 employees.
Whitmire will present the budget next Tuesday, followed Wednesday with a City Council committee meeting to discuss details of the spending plan.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
