After calls from community activists, city committee advances 2027 audit of SAPD overtime

San Antonio hasn’t formally reviewed SAPD overtime since 2020. The department has already said it will work to trim its 2027 overtime budget by $2.4 million.

SAN ANTONIO — Responding to demands from some city leaders and community watchdog groups, San Antonio staff are poised to conduct an audit of police overtime, the department’s first since 2020. 

The City of San Antonio Audit Committee OK’d the evaluation as part of a larger proposed audit plan for 2027, which features 30 audits in all. City Council is expected to approve the full plan later this month.

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Calls for a thorough SAPD audit continued into the recent budget season, where some council members reintroduced the push during conversations about where to slash to close a projected budget deficit. 

ACT 4 SA, a grassroots accountability group, has also been demanding an audit of the police force. At Wednesday’s committee meeting, members urged city audit staff to go further and examine all SAPD financials. 

“We would like for you to look into total compensation, grant management and contracts,” said Mary Scott, who is with the group. “These are all impactful areas of spending where savings might be found.”

Cristian Nunez, director of organizing with ACT 4 SA, called for three changes to the proposed audit: Reviewing total officer pay, examining grant management, and expanding the scope so it’s on par with audits of San Antonio Conventions and Sports Facilities, which manages the Alamodome and convention center. 

The Audit Committee – which includes Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, Councilman Marc Whyte and two other appointees – didn’t specifically discuss the suggestions or the planned SAPD audits in general. At the meeting, City Auditor Buddy Vargas only said the “police overtime budget was request by several council members, that is there.”

City Council is expected to vote on the full audit plan on Oct. 29. 

Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT 4 SA, said in a statement to KENS 5 that SAPD was “one of the most invested-in departments with the least financial oversight.”

“The overtime audit is a win, but we’ll keep pushing for our full audit demands: compensation, grants and procurement,” she said. 

In addition to overtime, the plan also calls for auditing police towing and impound, as well as SAPD ground transportation fees. 

But of the 30 planned audits, the SAPD overtime review is expected to be the biggest, taking up an estimated 1,000 hours of work. 

As part of this summer’s budget conversations, SAPD Chief Jesse Salame committed to trimming $2.4 million out of the department’s 2027 overtime budget as part of $5.4 million in overall department reductions.