Police association warns of staffing losses, urges pay-scale changes in 2026 budget

Gregory Sierraso, president of the Gunbarrel City Police Association, told the council the department is "bleeding talent" and urged changes to the proposed 2026 budget to make pay more competitive. He described short tenures, recent departures and training shortfalls and said the police association does not support the proposed budget as drafted.

Sierraso said he previously discussed pay restructuring with the city manager and proposed a five-year pay structure that would align starting pay and step increases with comparable agencies. He said the agency—s average tenure is "approximately 6 months" and that in the current month the department lost "2 officers and 1 dispatcher to higher paying departments." He called for raises timed to employees' anniversary dates rather than an across-the-board step once per year.

Sierraso also described limited training resources in the draft budget: "Our department has allocated $2,000 in training for 20 employees, which comes out to just $100 per person," and pointed to previously earmarked funds for laptops that were returned to the general fund.

The council did not vote on a budget amendment at that time; later in the meeting council members voted to table several budget items for further discussion. No formal direction to staff to implement the pay changes was recorded on the public record during the meeting.

Council members and staff acknowledged the concerns during subsequent budget discussion; the draft budget was postponed for additional work and will return to council at a later meeting.