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Supervisors forward police MOU amid public debate over pay, oversight and community policing
Summary
A tentative four‑year police MOU proposing wage increases and new incentives was forwarded to the full Board after extensive public comment. Supporters said pay adjustments were needed to remain competitive; critics faulted timing, oversight language and the scale of spending.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted to send a tentative four‑year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the San Francisco Police Officers Association to the full Board after extended staff presentations and a heated public comment period.
Mickey Callahan, employee relations director at the Department of Human Resources, summarized the agreement and said the contract’s wage package is a graduated approach intended to close the city’s market gap for recruiting and retention. “The net increase over the term of the contract in 4 years is 23%,” Callahan said, adding the department negotiated offsets in overtime and comp‑time language to contain costs.
Budget staff estimated a larger compounded cost over the agreement; the budget analyst described a roughly 25.3% compounded increase and flagged multi‑year incremental costs that rise substantially after the first year. The committee’s budget analyst and the controller’s office outlined projected offsets from changes to callback pay, comp‑time accrual, and other mechanics, but cautioned the agreement represents a large fiscal commitment.
Public commenters were sharply divided. Mark Solomon and others criticized the timing and said the contract had been posted with little advance public notice, arguing the community lacked a chance for meaningful input and that the city was not getting proportional service improvements. “This contract will raise the police's salary by 25.4% over 4 years … Are we getting anything close to that worth of our money right now?” Solomon asked.
John Tennant, general counsel for the POA, defended the agreement and said it includes reforms critics had demanded. Tennant noted the contract contains, for the first time in the parties’ bargaining history, a substance‑abuse testing program: “It is in there. It is mandatory testing.” He also defended rotation provisions and said the union supported some management initiatives.
Other elements described by staff included a targeted homeowner incentive (forgivable loans to encourage officers to live in the city), a small rental/relocation assistance program, and step/market adjustments for selected new hires.
After public comment, the committee voted to forward the MOU to the full Board at the committee's next regularly scheduled meeting to allow the board and the public additional review.
