On Friday, during a special Antioch City Council Meeting, the council did not act on an incentive program aimed at hiring more police officers, instead they provided staff with the direction. They also did not announce the appointment of Con Johnson as city manager and instead took no action.
Council Provides Direction for Bonus Package to Hire More Cops
For the second time, the Antioch City Council has taken no action on its bonus package to hire more Antioch Police Officers.
On Friday, the Antioch City Council discussed its employee referral and recruitment signing bonus to attract both lateral officers and rookie cops, but could not take action after Exhibit A was not attached to the Resolution. The council opted to give direction for staff to bring back models at 3-year and 5-year plans at $25k.
The discussion comes after Antioch Police Chief Steve Ford requested a continuance of the item in an effort to come back with a “more complete product” at a previous meeting.
The changes from the agenda item from two weeks ago include increased bonus pay for rookie cops from $5k to $20k, its added back in the homeownership incentive of up to $60k and included a repayment of bonuses in the event of separation.
Chief Steve Ford highlighted that the package would include a $50k lateral officer hired and $40-60k for an entry level officer. There is also more work to be done with the $60k in the form of a loan that could be applied to a home within the city of Antioch.
According to Ford, Antioch Police are authorized staffing levels of 115 sworn officers, however, they are currently staffed at 101 officers with at least 10 anticipated separations coming within the next year. He called it a “much deeper” conversation.
“We have 21 injured, 3 on FTO, 72 full duty officers, we only have 38 on patrol, we have 13 vacancies and we have 10 more separations over the next year,” explained Ford. “38 officers on patrol responding to calls, that gives us 6-7 officers per shift to man a city of 100,000 people which speaks to two very big concerns I have which is public safety and officer safety.”
He further highlighted they have an FBI investigation ongoing which is impacting the department.
“Depending on how that investigation unfolds that could further deplete our staffing in the near future,” said Ford.
Prior to council discussion, Mayor Lamar Thorpe stated this was his proposal and those were not final numbers which could be adjusted saying it did not have to be $40k but thought they would be a good starting point. He did say the Antioch Police Department officers were the second highest paid officers in the county and one of the higher paid agencies throughout the Bay Area.
“This is about recruitment and bringing people here,” stated Thorpe. “It’s important to understand the context that we are in right now and its not a very good one. It doesn’t matter how you paint it, its not a good one.”
Councilmember Lori Ogorchock stated she believed they needed to supplement those officers, dispatchers and staff who stayed during the pandemic. Although the city does have a retention program in place for longevity pay (starts at 9-years), she said officers who stayed do deserve a bonus. She was not in favor of the housing bonus.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker said they likely were not voting on a home assistance program tonight but noted there were other programs out there to look into—such as being in a home for 5-years. She also stated that the current bonus program was “too low” and there should be a discussion but thought the $40k was too high.
“I think a four-times jump is too high, I am open to discussing some potential numbers. Maybe its $15k or $20k but $40k seems a bit high to make a commitment,” said Torres-Walker who noted the department has struggled for a decade with its staffing levels. “I don’t agree with the $40k.”
Thorpe said this was a temporary proposal and in 1-year they would re-evaluate while advocating that they needed a big number.
“The initial bump has to be pretty high because I can’t emphasize enough on the impact of the investigation and the impact of the investigation growing,” said Thorpe who said they would be sitting with unfilled positions.
Councilmemebr Monica Wilson said the home loan program concerned her and believed the $40k was too steep. She said she would be okay with a range between $15-25k bonus program. She also wanted a breakdown between the three-year and five-year program and what it would look like.
Chief Ford told the council the department was in a “staffing crisis” and could not emphasize that enough.
“With a city of over 100,000 and we have 6-7 officers per shift. If someone calls off, now that reduces to 5 or 6. If officers get tied up on a long call or lengthy call for service, they will be out of service,” said Ford. “Its about public safety and officer safety and we have to look at it from a standpoint of not an expense, we are investing in public safety. This is the cost of doing business and the department is in a very unique position. I’ve been down this road before in my prior organization and I’ve seen this play out several times. Its going to be very impactful now matter how this plays out. Without question, when you are talking 38-officers on patrol, six per shift. That is daunting. It’s a pretty dismissal situation and in light of investigation still unfolding and still evolving its going to have a ripple effect in the organization.”
Ford noted what keeps officers in law enforcement is good leadership and called it a unique profession where at any second on any day ones life could end.
“Its not just about an expense, I understand the fiscal concerns, but I think a safe environment is worth investing into,” said Ford who noted that if they are serious about public safety it would be an investment, not an expense.
Mayor Pro Tem Mike Barbanica called this a crisis and the $10k being offered right now was not working.
Ford agreed stating the $10k was not going to “propel people to come into the profession.”
Barbanica said the home program concerned him because it was “right now” money and if they hired 10 officers who took advantage of it they would be putting $600k into an escrow account versus staggering it over time. He said he was in favor of an increased incentive program.
“We obviously have a crisis going on here and public safety should be a focus for us,” said Barbanica. “Yes, I agree we should be doing something for those who stayed but that shouldn’t be limiting that to the police department, we should be looking at all the employees that stayed during COVID.”
Barbanica proposed if they moved forward, they needed a “shocker” number.
“I know the public is going to see this number and wonder what we are doing, but just the salary savings alone of a $1 million a year that we are doing right now, not by choice, but because we don’t have the staff right now. We are saving that salary right now. I would much rather we invest and get the right people in doing the job and then in the future we don’t have to do this.”
Barbanica proposed they do something in the $25k range and it be staggered noting he didn’t believe a year would be long enough and they would be back discussing this program next year. He stated they are looking at a 2-3 year program but would be paying for this through salary savings.
Torres-Walker urged transparency saying the police department is not the only department understaffed and that every department is understaffed noting they voted for seven more code enforcement officers and that still isn’t enough. Code Enforcement only has 5 of 14 positions filled.
She continued stating she wanted to ensure the right people were hired.
Thorpe stated staffing levels are a challenge throughout the country and this would be just a tool to allow the police department to increase staffing—including hiring teachers. He suggested that if this go through, they utilize this for all staff for all positions currently open but said the amount would not be as great as the police department.
Under council consensus:
- The council agreed to a $25k/$30k incentive program (increments)
- Laterals and entry levels would get same plan in terms of pay.
- Initial give would be $15k in first year, the remaining spread over 3-5 years.
- Staff will bring back models at $25k and $30k at 3 or 5 years
- No consensus on housing bonus (will not come back)
The item will be brought back at some point in the future.
This item was before the City Council after Mayor Lamar Thorpe held a press conference on April 4 in response to low police staffing levels and pressure put on by citizens regarding public safety. Thorpe announced a $40k signing bonus for new cops along with down-payment assistance.
