Overview
- Lifting prior limits, the agreement would allow the CARE Department to grow from 24 to 48 responders and be solo-dispatched to more low-acuity 911 calls, including welfare checks and resource requests.
- SPOG members approved the tentative contract, which now goes to the City Council for consideration and could proceed to statutory arbitration on unresolved items.
- Police compensation would increase, including a starting base salary of $118,000 alongside premiums for education and bilingual skills, with additional raises over the 2024–2027 term.
- The deal adjusts accountability by directing minor performance issues to supervisors while aiming to accelerate investigations into serious misconduct.
- City officials link CARE’s growth to the new 0.1% public safety sales tax projected to raise nearly $40 million annually, and report more than 5,000 CARE responses so far in 2025.