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At its Aug. 27 meeting, the Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously to approve a new contract with the Menlo Park Police Officers’ Association after several months of negotiations over the contract. The new three-year contract includes 3% yearly pay increases for officers, an immediate 2% cost of living adjustment, a 5% salary step increase in 2025 and extra pay for years served in other police departments, among other changes. This all amounts to a contract that will cost the city nearly 1.7 times more than the previous contract.
The new contract also removes a clause that limited the length of disciplinary suspensions for police officers to three days. There is now no specific limit to the amount of time an officer can be suspended for disciplinary reasons.
The total cost to the city for the pay and benefit improvements across all three years of the contract will be $1.3 million, according to a city staff report. The POA’s previous three-year contract with the city, which was approved in 2021, cost approximately $780,905.
The POA’s current contract with the city expired on Aug. 31. The new contract took effect on Sept. 1 of this year, and will expire on Aug. 31, 2027.
In order to cover the additional costs of the amended contract, the city had to appropriate an additional $177,867 from its general fund reserves to balance this year’s budget.
Additionally, the members of the Police Sergeants Association will receive a pay bump as a result of the POA’s negotiations with the city. The PSA’s contract with the city mandates that there be a 15% difference in pay between the two groups. In order to cover the additional costs for the PSA’s wage increases, the city had to appropriate an additional $68,906 from its general fund reserves.
The staff report states that the new contract will help the city to recruit and retain “top talent” in service to the community.
Previously, Menlo Park police officers would make between $104,378 and $126,872. As of Sept. 1, officers will make between $116,272 and $141,330.
This brings the Menlo Park Police Department’s pay closer to what neighboring agencies pay. According to public salary schedules, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department currently pays deputies between $117,686 and $147,118, Palo Alto currently pays their officers between $125,153 and $161,741, Atherton currently pays their officers between $129,501 and $157,409 and Redwood City currently pays their officers between $139,450 and $169,525.
East Palo Alto is the only neighboring city that will have lower yearly police officer salaries than Menlo Park once the new contract goes into effect. East Palo Alto currently pays their police officers between $105,170 and $138,925.
The staff report also states that attracting and retaining quality police recruits may save the city money in the long run. The city spends approximately $115,000 and least year and a half of time to take a prospective police candidate through training.
In order to attract officers from other nearby departments, the new contract includes a new longevity pay program that treats service in other police departments similarly to the way the city currently rewards years of service with the city. Police officers will be credited with half a year of service to Menlo Park for every year of service they completed at a different agency.
