The Piedmont City Council approved a four-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Piedmont Police Officers Association covering July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029, after staff summarized the proposed wage and benefit changes and the council adopted the agreement by roll-call vote.

City Administrator Bayonne Moore summarized the MOU's principal provisions: an equity adjustment and cost-of-living increases that staff described as roughly a 13% combined effect across the contract period, and a redesigned recruitment-and-retention incentive that gives percentage-based salary increases for prior service (2% at seven years, 3% at 11 years and 4% at 15 years, with the 15-year step increasing to 5% effective July 1, 2027). Moore also described increases in the city's health-care cost coverage and other updates to bereavement and vacation-sellback language.

During public comment, Sergeant Willie Wright, who said he previously served as POA president and later as an advisor to negotiators, told the council: "The PPOA does not have a tentative agreement with the city." Wright said negotiators believed they had a tentative agreement but that the union membership had not ratified it and that the union later received a red-line version from the city containing language the POA said contradicted what negotiators had discussed.

The city attorney stated staff's position that there was a tentative agreement; Bayonne Moore said her recommendation to the council did not change. After brief council discussion, the Vice Mayor moved to approve the MOU; Council Member Ramsey seconded and the council approved the agreement on a unanimous roll-call vote.

The staff presentation noted specific compensation mechanics: a 0.75 percentage-point equity adjustment effective July 1, 2025, a 0.75% increase on that date and 3% increases on July 1 of 2026, 2027 and 2028, plus the recruitment-and-retention percentages effective July 1, 2027. Staff said the package aimed to address recruitment and retention issues and to recognize prior years of service when hiring experienced officers from other agencies. The MOU also updated health benefits and allowed more flexible vacation sellback.

The council action advanced the new MOU as city staff recommended; staff retained authority to make technical corrections to the finalized document.