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Board ratifies tentative police contract raising starting pay to $74,000; fiscal cost estimated at $23.1M over two years
Summary
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 6–1 on Feb. 3 to ratify a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the county police association that raises the starting salary to $74,000 and includes step/market increases; staff estimate a FY2027 cost of $19 million and a cumulative FY2028 impact of $23.1 million.
Prince William County's Board of Supervisors on Feb. 3 ratified a tentative collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the county and the Prince William County Police Association, approving a package that raises the department's starting salary from $62,000 to $74,000 and provides additional market and step increases.
County Attorney's Office attorney Megan Kelly said the four-year agreement includes a wage re-opener at the end of year two to accommodate market adjustments. "The wage re-opener provision automatically reopened negotiations for market adjustments, merit increases, step increases, and any other monetary compensation," she told the board.
Chief Pete Newsome described recruiting and retention pressures that drove the negotiations, showing Prince William County was below neighboring jurisdictions on starting pay. "We've fallen behind and we have to catch up," Newsome said during his presentation, adding that many officers who left in prior years cited pay as a key factor.
Budget staff presented the fiscal impact. Dave Sinclair said increasing the starting salary to $74,000 would have a fully loaded cost to the county of about $19,000,000 in fiscal 2027 and an incremental $4,100,000 in fiscal 2028 for a cumulative increase of $23,100,000. He noted a separate annual 3% step adjustment (already built into the five-year plan) would add roughly $2,600,000 per year.
Supporters on the board emphasized retention benefits and public-safety needs, citing the strain first responders faced during a recent winter storm. "When we talk about making sure that they have a wage where they can support their families, I'm always gonna fall 100% on their side," Chief Newsome said. Several supervisors also argued that higher pay can reduce recruitment and training costs over time by lowering attrition.
Supervisor Vega reiterated long-standing philosophical opposition to collective bargaining for county employees and said she would not support the measure. The ratification motion passed 6–1.
Next steps: the board's budget process will incorporate the required appropriation changes; staff said some costs are already planned in portions of the five-year plan while the newly identified impacts will be added to the FY2027 budget to be presented Feb. 17.
