13/08/2026
After months of negotiations and a full round of mediation failed to produce
an agreement, the Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA) has submitted its Last, Best, and Final Offer to the City of Sacramento for a successor labor agreement.
SPOA entered negotiations prepared to reach a fair and reasonable agreement and reduced its
proposals in an effort to find common ground. Unfortunately, the City has remained unwilling to
meaningfully address the significant economic issues facing Sacramento police officers.
This is not simply a labor dispute. Sacramento is facing a serious police staffing and retention
problem, and the City's approach to bargaining is making that problem worse.
Sacramento police officers currently rank significantly below the compensation levels of comparable agencies identified by the City Charter. Sacramento once maintained approximately 800 sworn officers with a smaller population. Today, as the city has grown and demands for police services have
increased, staffing has moved in the opposite direction, with approximately 613 sworn officers today. Even maintaining Sacramento's historical authorized staffing ratio would require more than 800 sworn officers today, not fewer. At the same time, the City eliminated additional sworn positions in its 2026-27 budget.
Rather than address the underlying recruitment and retention problem through competitive
compensation, the City has eliminated the college-education requirement, at the same time the State of California is introducing education requirements for the profession. The City continues utilizing bargaining practices that delay meaningful progress while Sacramento officers fall further behind the market.
For more than a decade, SPOA members have endured extended periods working without a successor contract. Since 2013, those periods have totaled more than 1,000 days. SPOA has been forced to file an unfair labor practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board simply to bring the City to the bargaining table.
Sacramento's police officers deserve better, and Sacramento's residents deserve better.
SPOA's final offer provides a responsible path forward focused on four critical areas:
- Competitive salaries tied to the comparable-agency market established by the City Charter.
- Improved longevity incentives designed to retain experienced officers.
- Medical contributions that keep pace with rising healthcare costs.
- Workers' compensation reforms designed to get injured officers appropriate treatment and
back to work sooner.
SPOA believes the City has the ability to prioritize public safety and provide competitive
compensation. Other jurisdictions have demonstrated that it can be done. The City of Stockton recently approved a three-year agreement providing most of its officers approximately 17.5% in increases over three years, further widening the competitive gap Sacramento faces in recruiting and retaining officers.
Sacramento cannot continue to lose experienced officers, eliminate police positions, and rely on
outside law enforcement resources while simultaneously refusing to meaningfully address the compensation issues contributing to the staffing crisis. SPOA remains willing to reach a voluntary agreement, but our members will not wait indefinitely while the City continues to delay and refuses to meaningfully address the recruitment, retention, and compensation crisis facing the Sacramento Police Department. After months of negotiations and mediation, the time for delay is over.
If the City rejects SPOA’s Last, Best, and Final Offer, SPOA will invoke the arbitration process provided under the City Charter and take this dispute before a neutral arbitrator. We are prepared to present the facts, defend our proposal, and hold the City accountable for its bargaining position. Our members and the Sacramento community deserve a resolution.
