Missouri City considers raising signing bonus for new police officers

MISSOURI CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Missouri City is looking to increase its signing bonus for new police officers as the department faces a staffing shortage, according to items on the council agenda.

A city council ordinance that appears headed for a final vote next Monday would raise the signing bonus for new officers from $10,000 to $15,000. The ordinance acknowledges that the Missouri City Police Department currently has 10 or more vacancies in the police officer rank.

Other local agencies are navigating their own positions to fill. Pearland PD says it has only three openings right now, offers a $15,000 signing incentive, and plans to fill those positions soon.

In Galveston, officials say a signing bonus helped the department recover from a significant staffing gap in previous years.

"We had 32 vacancies for a department of 168. We were working very much at a deficit, so we've done our best, and we have shored up those numbers now, and part of that was having a $6,000 signing bonus," Galveston PD Chief Doug Balli said.

This comes as the City of Houston agreed last year to a new police department contract that increases officer salaries by 36.5% by 2030.

Smaller agencies like Manvel PD say they are doing what they can to keep officers as larger departments offer higher salaries.

"We do offer this year. It just got adopted into council for our officers to receive, so we got a 3% cost of living across the board. That was all city employees, but our sworn peace officers, they're on a 3% step increase," Manvel PD interim Chief Rick Alvarado said.

Chief Alvarado said Manvel currently does not offer a signing bonus but understands the department has to keep working to stay competitive.

"We didn't want to see a giant hike in our residents' tax, so we're playing the slow game. We're making sure that we provide (things) like, an outstanding culture. So some initiatives that we also offer officers is they get one hour of PT on duty," Alvarado said.

Back in Missouri City, the council meeting is set for Monday, where police chief Troy Finner will present the second reading of the incentive-pay ordinance. Finner was not available for comment Wednesday.

Sugar Land PD said it only have two vacancies and are actively recruiting right now.

Fulshear PD said it has a few openings but is not actively recruiting because it isbusy training several new rookie officers. An official added that they want to ensure new officers receive the attention, training, and support they need before bringing additional officers on board.

League City PD said it has no new incentives in the works, but last year it implemented a lateral hiring program. An official said their pay is competitive with other agencies of comparable size in the region. They said they have openings and are currently reviewing several applicants in the hiring phase after the most recent exam.