Turner on police pay raise: 'These negotiations are never easy, so I appreciate the collective effort'

The Houston City Council unanimously voted to approve a pay raise on Wednesday (March 23) for the Houston Police Department, according to reports from Houston-based media outlets. Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that a three-year agreement with the Houston Police Officers’ Union will boost officers' pay by 10.5%.

The station also reported that the contract will allocate $6.7 million in special day pay and provide funding for new crime reduction technology. The vote was the culmination of four months of negotiations between HPOU leaders and the mayor's office, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.

”These negotiations are never easy, so I appreciate the collective effort," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said, according to KPRC.

A City of Houston press release said that the agreement's combined cost is $125.4 million over three years, KPRC reported.

According to KTRK, officers will receive a 4% base pay increase in the first full pay period after July 1. Next year, it'll be 3%, and in 2024, 3.5% more, the station reported.

KTRK reported that a significant change that accompanied the approval of the pay increase is that a 180-day investigative clock will now begin when the city learns of an alleged violation.

According to HPOU President Douglas Griffith, it's about give and take.

"The city obviously wants more accountability in law enforcement and we gave them that," Griffith told KTRK. "And obviously, the city needs more money for hiring and retention purposes and we got that."

According to KTRK, the pay raise comes just as the city is at the throes of increased criminal activity and a need to hire and keep more officers.

"We don't defund police," Turner said, the station reported. "We support police and at the same time we are investing in the community,"