The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday will consider approving a four-year contract with the union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers, detectives and lieutenants, intended to address issues of retention and recruitment.
The deal, which includes pay increase and bonuses as well as increased health care benefits and patrol incentives, was approved by Mayor Karen Bass and by a nearly 2-to-1 majority of Los Angeles Police Protective League members earlier this month.
The labor agreement needs approval by the full council before it can be finalized.
Council members Nithya Raman, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez called the proposed deal “irresponsible” during a news conference Wednesday morning at City Hall.
“It takes us seven years to repair a sidewalk in Los Angeles,” Hernandez said alongside a coalition of community advocates.
Hernandez said the proposed deal comes at a time when several city unions are still in contract negotiations, and that the city already allocates a quarter of its general fund to the LAPD.
“Our budget is a zero sum game. When we allocate so much of our city dollars to just one department we starve all of our other departments from the money, personnel and resources that they need to serve Angelenos,” she said.
The issue was also expected to prompt a long and loud public comments session in the Council Chamber prior to the vote.
Ahead of that full-council vote, the council’s three-member Personnel, Audits and Hiring Committee voted 2-1 in support of the deal. Soto-Martinez, who sits on the committee, was the lone “no” vote.
Soto-Martinez expressed his frustration with the amount of bonuses officers would receive under the contract and how much it would cost the city and taxpayers. He also said he didn’t understand why the contract did not include sunset clauses.
Matt Szabo, city administrative officer, confirmed that the cumulative cost of the contract will be $994 million.
Noting that 22 departments have higher vacancy rates than the LAPD, including sanitation, street services, youth development and work development, Soto-Martinez asked Szabo whether the contract would require cutting or limiting spending in other departments.
Szabo said the budget is one spending plan approved by the mayor and council, a plan that is evaluated and can be reassessed to spend “more in certain areas based on the priorities of the body.”
“Sometimes cuts will be made and then you’ll have the opportunity to decide how we make those cuts,” he added. “We have to make cuts if revenue does not come in as projected.”
“… Our members ratified a four-year contract that is focused on providing raises to retain our current officers and recruit qualified candidates to enter the police academy,” the LAPPL’s Board of Directors said in an earlier statement.
Starting pay for a new recruit would begin at $86,193, a 12.6% increase from the current starting salary of $74,020. Additionally, the deal would also provide four raises of 3% over the four years.
Retention bonuses combined with scheduled pay increases would increase officers’ overall wages by 6% raise in year one, a 4% raise in year two, a 5% raise in year three and a 5% raise in year four.
New officers from the Police Academy who remain with the LAPD for at least three years would earn $15,000 in bonuses, while officers who transfer to the department from other agencies and stay for at least three years would earn $20,000 in bonuses.
By 2027, starting salary for new recruits will hit $94,000.
According to the mayor’s office, LAPD staffing has declined by more than 1,000 officers since the beginning of 2020, and the agency is expected to lose hundreds more in the coming year due to retirements and resignations.
Since 2017, the department has lost more than 430 officers in their first year and a half of duty, and a significant number leave for other agencies before serving for 10 years, according to the mayor’s office.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the Police Commission during Tuesday’s meeting that the department’s personnel strength stands at 9,011 officers, while the civilian professionals stand at 2,621.
Moore addressed commissioners’ questions about how recruitment issues have affected the department’s ability to meet challenges with crime, such as a spike in organized retail theft, property crimes and assaults with deadly weapons.
He acknowledged that having 1,000 fewer officers has limited the department’s response to calls for service and affected public engagement.
Melina Abdullah, the leader of the Los Angeles Chapter of Black Lives Matter, previously said the deal is “hugely problematic” given the history of how the LAPD polices Black people in Los Angeles. She said the city should be investing in housing and afterschool programs.
Prior to the Police Commission meeting Tuesday morning, BLMLA, alongside Stop the LAPD Spying Coalition and Los Angeles Community Action Network, hosted a news conference condemning “a recent LAPD shooting surge and the complicity of city officials,” according to a statement from the coalition.
The organizations also criticized the proposed labor agreement.
Abdullah said the department’s issues with recruitment stem from the perception of the public. According to Abdullah, people see “racial bias, misogyny within your own department, alcohol abuse, careless and harmful handling of equipment, especially guns, and not being truthful.”
“These are things that affect people’s perception of what LAPD is, and it does affect the ability to recruit. Young people don’t want to be violence workers,” she said.
Moore told commissioners that LAPD officers have been involved in 19 shootings so far this year, compared to 25 last year.
The number of fatal police shootings stands at 10, compared to 11 in 2022, he added.
Moore reported a 7.9% reduction in violent crime. Homicide rates continue to improve with a 24% reduction, or 63 fewer homicides than last year at this time, he said.
Property crime is up by 1%, and personal thefts rose by 20%, which are accounted for by retailers such as Target, Nordstrom and Warehouse Shoe stores, according to Moore.
“It is critically important that (Wednesday) before the City Council is a multi-year contract proposal for our rank-and-file and it is my hope that it enjoys the council’s support because I believe it is a significant step that will help us attract both new recruits as well as retain a very professional workforce,” Moore said.