The Los Angeles City Council on August 23 approved a contract with the city’s police officers to offer pay raises and a significant budget increase amid a debate on spending priorities.

The contract, already ratified by the police union, passed by a 12–3 vote and has been hailed by city leaders as a meaningful step toward reversing the staffing shortages faced by the department in recent years.

Under the terms of the contract, officers will see significant wage increases and bonuses, which leaders hope will help recruit new members to the LAPD.

Starting salaries for police officers will see a nearly 13% increase, and annual base raises of 3% will be provided.

Proponents of the contract argue that police officers deserve fair compensation for the multifaceted roles they perform.

With additional bonuses factored in, officers covered by the contract can expect a 4% to 6% increase in wages each year for four years. The total projected cost of the contract is staggering, with the LAPD’s annual budget expected to rise by a minimum of $384 million by the end of the contract period.

Cumulatively, the City could spend up to $994 million in additional funds over the life of the contract.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, a champion of the contract, asserts that this significant investment is essential to address the LAPD’s recruitment challenges.

“Our police department, just like other major city police departments, is enduring a hiring and retention crisis,” Bass stated. “Around the same time that we struck a tentative agreement, the LAPD sworn force dipped below 9,000 for the first time since 2002. I want to thank the leaders of the City Council for supporting this action, and I look forward to working together to ensure that Angelenos are safe.”

During her campaign for the mayor’s office, Bass pledged to increase the number of sworn officers to around 9,500 by June 2024.

However, critics, including some city councilmembers, argue that the budget allocation to the police department comes at the expense of other critical services, particularly given the city’s pressing needs in areas such as mental health services and homelessness outreach.

Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman voted against the contract.

Hernandez, who campaigned on reducing police funding, criticized the disproportionate allocation of resources to the police, citing delayed infrastructure projects and understaffed city services.

Soto-Martinez and Raman echoed these concerns, arguing that the contract perpetuates the status quo and inhibits efforts to transform the public safety system.

They also stressed the need to allocate resources to alternative response systems for nonviolent calls. 

Despite their opposition, proponents of the contract argue that it is vital to maintain a competitive police force, and that officers deserve fair compensation for the multifaceted roles they perform, ranging from handling law enforcement issues to responding to mental health crises and domestic disputes.

The contract has already been successful in attracting a larger number of recruits to the LAPD Academy.

LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi cited that the latest Academy class had 44 recruits, which was up from less than 30 earlier this summer. He also remarked that several officers who left the department are considering returning to the force.

“Five people in the past two weeks have called and said, ‘How do I get back onto LAPD?’” Choi said.