Union police officers in Walnut Creek have seen a 4% raise each year in their paychecks since the summer of 2021 — not long after activists began pushing to defund police in cities across the U.S.
Walnut Creek spent $22.8 million in total compensation for its 131 police employees last year, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of data from the State Controller’s Office, making it the highest funded department in the city by nearly a $10 million margin. That sum includes $18.2 million in wages and $4.6 million in other benefits total
Even with the department at the top of the city’s budget, the two unions representing city officers, the Police Officers Association and Police Management Association, on Tuesday officially secured another 3% raise from the City Council that will take effect Sept. 29 and cost the city an additional $420,000 annually.
Union reps said the “special wage adjustment” was necessary to help address the impact of inflation and a competitive labor market on police officer recruitment and retention, contending the cost of living has climbed higher than anticipated within the current, four-year labor agreements that expire in June and July 2025, respectively.
Related Articles
Dismissal sought as 11th-hour charges against cops in Mario Gonzalez’s death draw fresh scrutiny
Ex-California cop accused of showing teens obscene videos faces lawsuit, loses law enforcement license
‘Unease and retaliation’: San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies claim toxic work culture in union spat
Ex-Pittsburg police officer gets 90 days behind bars for college degree fraud scheme
An Oakland officer says he was the victim of an armed carjacking. The report came in minutes after his truck was involved in a wild hit-and-run
The exact range of the newly approved salaries for the department’s employees still remains unclear. However, a review of city records by this news publication showed that the estimated range of bi-weekly salaries for police officers in October will be between $4,448 and $5,403 — earning officers upwards of $140,000 annually, not including overtime or other pay.
Census data estimated the median household income in Walnut Creek at $134,770 in 2023, while the median income for a single resident this year was $109,000.
Officer Shane Blatz, president of the Police Officers Association, who was paid $128,611 last year, said it was “a long road” to ink this deal with city officials.
“Tonight’s obviously very historic for our union to receive this big contract pay incentive,” Blatz said on Tuesday. “We are very grateful that we’re able to do some catching up to help retain our officers, as well as hopefully attract some officers to come here and help rebuild our group and build on to the future.”
Last year, police accounted for all but three of the top 20 highest paid Walnut Creek employees. Walnut Creek’s top earning cop, Officer Domenick Clemente, was paid a base salary of $128,611 in 2023 but earned nearly $515,000 with overtime and other pay, according to Transparent California, a public portal of pay and pension data for California government employees provided by the Nevada Policy Research Institute.
Police Chief Jamie Knox was the second highest paid, earning $497,721 in total compensation last year, while Walnut Creek officers made anywhere from about $107,933 to $131,133 in base pay last year, according to the controller’s office.
Walnut Creek’s police officers aren’t the highest paid police in the Bay Area, though the city’s rates are comparable to other cities of its size.
Fremont — home to nearly three times more residents than Walnut Creek — spent $62.8 million in total compensation on its 345 police employees in 2023.
Across the broader Bay Area in 2023, San Jose paid $364 million in total compensation to its 1,951 police employees, San Francisco paid $641 million to its 2,893 police employees, and Oakland paid $302 million to its 1,310 police employees.
Police agencies across the region and state have said recruiting and retaining officers is a growing problem, with some cities turning to bonuses to lure applicants. The city of Alameda offered officers a $75,000 signing bonus beginning in 2023, which led to the hiring of 16 officers. San Francisco offered a $5,000 bonus, San Mateo a $30,000 bonus, and Hayward offered up to $20,000 in 2022 for experienced officers.
As of Sept. 3, the Walnut Creek Police Department reported that 89% of its budgeted positions were filled. While its sworn staff was at 91% capacity, only 78% were deployed — a rate police said is impacted by officers’ long term leave and modified duty.
Sgt. Andrew Ha, the WCPMA’s president who was paid $153,531 in 2023, said “this city really does care about its public safety.” After he moved laterally to Walnut Creek from a different department where pay raises were questioned, he said “this is a breath of fresh air.”
A drone view of the Walnut Creek Police Department in downtown Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
While details about the city’s union negotiations may have been shared in earlier closed session conversations over several weeks, the final biweekly rates that would take effect after the 3% raise were never publicly disclosed prior to Tuesday’s Walnut Creek City Council meeting, where elected officials unanimously approved the raise.
Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Darling pulled the police raise off the consent calendar — typically a list of routine city issues approved in a single vote — for discussion but only to share how appreciative she was of the department’s work.
“We also recognize that we were in unusual circumstances, which led to the decision that is before us tonight,” Darling said Tuesday. “We are hoping that this will be a good way for us to continue to recruit new officers, recruit lateral officers and make sure that our existing officers know how much we value them.”
The current contract agreement with the POA and PMA expires at the end of June 2025. Lt. Bruce Jower, the department’s spokesperson within the professional standards department, said the unions typically restart negotiations after their final scheduled raise is in place, but he could not provide a timeline for future discussions and approvals.