Union leaders said contract negotiations were “paused” as they decried the city’s latest offer.

SAN ANTONIO — Contract negotiation talks between the City of San Antonio and representatives of the police union hit a snag Friday after city officials presented salary and health benefits proposals that union leaders said amounted to a “slap in the face.” 

Representatives of the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) said the proposal offered Friday – which included raises between 11.45% and 13.94% for most uniformed personnel from 2027 to 2029 – made it unclear how competitive the city was trying to be with other major Texas metros. They pointed to what they called a “generational” contract passed in Houston last year that will raise pay for first-year officers there by 37% over five years, starting with a 10% bump in 2025 alone. 

Under San Antonio’s latest proposal, base pay for the lowest-salaried tier of patrol officers would go up 4.23% in the first year. SAPOA reps at the meeting said the union’s members found the offer “unacceptable.”

“If you’re chasing No. 2 (in the market), we can help you get there,” SAPOA Treasurer Jason Sanchez told city representatives. “If you’re OK with treading water at No. 4, we can be there. You’ve just got to make it clear with the membership, ‘This is where we value you at.’ I don’t think this proposal did that.”

Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez countered by saying the city was considering the broader package of base salaries, benefits and incentives. She said the proposal represented a balance between pay, continuing existing benefits and “making sure we are also staying within our financial realities.” 

A statement later provided by a city spokesperson pointed to San Antonio ranking near the top in terms of education, certification pay and allowances, while acknowledging that “base pay may lag at some career stages.” 

Entering the meeting, the two sides had agreed on seven of 16 points in this contract-bargaining process. But it must still find common ground on the remaining nine, including contract length, wages, promotions and work hours. 

SAPOA President Danny Diaz, who was watching Friday’s proceedings from his office, said his phone soon started blowing up with messages from union members who had heard the city’s proposal. 

He also called inconsistencies in the proposed wage increase rates among the city’s materials, which Villagomez in the meeting attributed to as a rounding error. 

“It shows they’re just not ready, not looking at everything,” Diaz said. “It’s disheartening, and as our members put it, it’s a slap in the face.” 

After the meeting, the union said in a statement that it was pausing contract talks for now, saying the city “feel significantly short” and accused officials of devaluing uniformed officers. 

City Manager Erik Walsh said in a statement he was “confident both sides can continue to work through the remaining issues and provide certainty for our officers and the community.” He called it “critical” that an agreement is reached before the 2027 budget process begins this summer. 

Wage increases, depending on their extent, could impact what some San Antonio City Council members have called a priority item of increasing funding for more patrol officers in 2027.

The current contract, reached in April 2022, was the result of 33 meetings between representatives on both sides. That contract bolstered disciplinary procedures for officers accused of misconduct by narrowing a third-party arbitrator’s ability to reinstate fired officers. A final agreement on a new contract would require ratification by union members and approval by San Antonio City Council.