City staffers praised the deal as a compromise that will help retain and recruit qualified officers, but some residents have unanswered questions.

Sep 15, 2026

Updated 11:40 am PT

Former interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins addresses Oakland residents at an educational workshop about Oakland’s biennial budget process at the Main Library on March 11, 2025. (David M. Barreda/KQED)

Oakland City Council members on Tuesday plan to consider approving raises and bonuses for hundreds of police officers, despite some residents’ concerns about skyrocketing expenses amid a budget deficit.

The deal negotiated by the police union and city staff, announced last month, would increase base wages by 14% over five years and offer longevity premium pay aimed at retaining and attracting qualified personnel to the understaffed department. The city council plans to give the proposed salary changes a second reading on Oct. 6, a required step before the ordinance can take effect. 

City staffers praised the development as a compromise, with officers agreeing to pay more for their pension and healthcare costs. The city currently covers 100% of healthcare premiums for police rank and file, as well as managers. Under the tentative agreement, members of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association would contribute 10% to their employee healthcare by 2030, and an additional 3% to their pension later that year.

“These agreements strike an important balance between supporting officer retention, improving public safety and protecting the city’s long-term financial stability,” City Council President Kevin Jenkins said in a statement. “These contracts help the city remain competitive while recognizing the service of the officers who serve our community every day.” 

An Oakland Police Department squad car in downtown Oakland on April 28, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

The move comes after San Francisco and its police union earlier this year agreed to give officers a 14% pay increase over four years. 

In a nod to concerns that police overtime spending in Oakland often goes over budget, employees would need written agreement from the police chief or his designee to earn compensatory time off when working overtime.

But some residents said that the proposed contract measure is insufficient to corral mushrooming overtime costs. Anne Janks, an advocate with the Coalition for Police Accountability, said she’s also disappointed that the public has not had a real chance to weigh in on the tentative deal or get more information about it.

City staffers estimated the recent labor agreement would cost an additional $88.9 million in wages and premiums over five years, after savings in benefit costs. Janks questioned, however, whether that total factored in pay for nonunion officers and pension costs. She also wondered whether the longevity bonuses — which were previously paid as a lump sum — would now be included in salaries, with compounding impacts for raises and pensions. The answers weren’t immediately clear.

“This contract as proposed, it’s going to be a major, major hit on our budget,” said Janks, an Oakland resident for more than 25 years. “The question is, is it going to accomplish what they are proposing, that it’s gonna do retention? Let’s have a really open discussion about how much it’s actually gonna cost.” 

Jenkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned vote Tuesday, nor did City Councilmember Charlene Wang, who chairs the Public Safety Committee and praised the proposed contract.

City staffers and a union representative were not immediately available for comment. In an earlier statement, the union cited a study by the Office of the Inspector General showing the department is 370 officers short of what it needs to be fully staffed. While there are 603 sworn officers, only 507 are available to work on any given day.

Policing is Oakland’s most expensive city service, with a $410.6 million budget this fiscal year. The tentative labor agreement comes as the city faces annual budget shortfalls of about $120 million until 2030, and increased scrutiny over its police overtime spending. The Oaklandside reported earlier this year that a single lieutenant was paid more than $490,000 in overtime in 2024.

“The cops are already well paid; the overtime is ridiculous; there wasn’t a transparent process; and the other piece of this is they have 45 officers sitting at home pulling a paycheck for months because they are waiting for disciplinary hearings,” said Jose Dorado, a former Oakland police commissioner from 2017 through 2021. “We need better management, better deployment.”

Oakland police officers receive base pay ranging between about $106,000 to $148,000 per year, plus additional pay incentives, according to a department recruiting website. That’s above what some officers in the state make, but in line with what police in other Bay Area cities earn. The mean annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers in California is about $112,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.