Huntington Beach council asks for a closer look at HBPD contract proposal
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A divided Huntington Beach City Council pressed pause Tuesday night on a proposed contract agreement with the police union.
The council voted 4-3 to take a closer look at the numbers, in light of millions of dollars in budget deficits forecast in the fiscal years to come.
Councilman Don Kennedy made a motion to refer the memorandum of understanding to the Finance Commission for review, also directing the city manager, and chief financial officer, in conjunction with the city treasurer, to prepare a five-to-10 year financial analysis on bankruptcy risk. Mayor Casey McKeon, Mayor Pro Tem Butch Twining and Councilman Pat Burns voted with Kennedy.
“Two things can be true at the same time,” Kennedy said. “No. 1, I fully support our public safety, unequivocally. I believe we have incredible law enforcement, [an] incredible Fire [Department], Marine Safety. But I also believe that my job, my fiduciary responsibility, is to our taxpayers.”
Councilmen Andrew Gruel and Chad Williams, along with Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark, sought to eceive and consider the proposed memorandum but their motion failed 4-3..
The three-year contract, which had been under negotiation for months, was slated to start in July and would run through June 2029. Under the memorandum, the members of the Police Officers Assn. would receive base salary increases of 8% this year, 4% in 2027, and 5% in 2028 for a total of 17% and a cost of $9.8 million over the life of the contract.
Kennedy made his own presentation, showing that 49 of the 50 top paid employees of the city last year worked for either the Police or Fire departments. City Manager Travis Hopkins was the exception.
Those 50 employees earned more than $400,000 a year in total compensation, a figure that includes base wages, overtime and benefits.
“If respect was determined by wages, I would say we respect our public safety,” Kennedy said. “Fifty people equate to $20 million annually in payroll. I understand some of it has to be accrued, but we have an enormous amount of O.T.”
The projected structural budget deficit is $15 million for fiscal year 2026-27, but is expected to balloon to $47 million by fiscal year 2030-31, for a total of about $170 million in deficit during that time frame.
Those forecasts were verified during the meeting by CFO Zack Zithisakthanakul, who added that the city currently has general fund reserves of about $100 million.
City Treasurer Jason Schmitt told the council that he did his best to verify many of the numbers presented on less than 24 hours’ notice.
“If these numbers are remotely true, even close, given what our general fund reserve is?” Schmitt said, “my read, as a lawyer and as the city treasurer who is independent of this council, would be that if this were to play out as evidenced here ... this would require us to declare a fiscal emergency and potentially file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.”
Kennedy said the city needs to be serious about the budget deficit.
“It’s massive, it’s for real, and it’s not going to go away,” he said. “If we have to go into the reserve funds every year … you will be spent out, you will be depleted in five years. That’s not just Chicken Little, ‘Hey, the sky is falling.’ These are real things that we need to address.”
Gruel noted that police salaries accounted for about 30% of the general fund, which was lower than several other Orange County cities. City staff indicated that the Police Officers Assn. was ranked 12th out of 12 departments surveyed countywide in base pay and ninth out of 12 in total compensation.
“The idea that Huntington Beach is devoting some extraordinary share of its resources to policing simply isn’t supported by the numbers,” Gruel said. “We’re lean on officers right now, so we’ve got to be able to bring people in … Do I think that it’s a phenomenal deal? No.
“Do I think that it’s difficult for the city? Yes. But when we look at it from the perspective of just the money, we can’t keep putting the onus on the backs of just the police officers, when there’s an entire financial situation that we need to consider.”
Several Police Department employees advocated for the new contract during public comments.
Officer Bernard Atkins, an 18-year veteran of the department, is involved in recruiting and evaluating applicants.
“Quality candidates have options, and they pay attention to compensation, benefits, organizational culture and where they believe they can build a career,” Atkins said. “Even in the best circumstances, attracting top-quality candidates is an uphill battle.
“But, when you throw in the fact that we’re outpaced on pay and benefits compared to neighboring departments, it becomes more difficult. We’re constantly posting positions and interviewing, yet we still can’t seem to fill gaps fast enough.”
The council is expected to vote on the memorandum at its Sept. 1 meeting.
