City Council rejects MPD hiring and retention bonuses again

On Friday, November 17, the Minneapolis City Council voted 8-5 against the mayor’s tentative agreement with the police union that would have paid officers retention bonuses designed to address staffing shortages in the MPD. 

 Previously, the council voted against the agreement 7-5 at a budget meeting earlier in the week, before Mayor  Frey called a special session for Friday to take up the issue again.

According to the agreement, eligible employees in the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (POFM) bargaining unit would receive incentives of  $18,000 over three years for existing officers according to a payment schedule. New recruits would receive $15,000 over three years. 

The first installment for new hires of $5,000 would be paid upon successful completion of a probationary period. The second payment of $5,000 would be earned one year after completion of the probationary period, and the final payment of $5,000 would be earned two full years after completion of the probationary period. 

Officers who were already employed with the department would receive an $18,000 bonus over the three-year period for remaining with the department. The MPD bonuses would be paid for with public safety funds from Minnesota’s surplus and were included in the mayor’s 2024 recommended budget, for $15.3 million, including payments for 731 sworn officers by 2028. 

“As an employer, we need to compete to recruit and retain police officers. That’s no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention,” said Mayor Frey before last week’s city council votes. 

“Our officers are doing incredibly hard work every day, and we need to pay them accordingly. It’s also clear that stronger managerial authority for the department and chief is a key piece of our overarching reform and safety work,” said the mayor.

The agreement with the union was intended to get control over the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) shift-bidding process. The current shift-bidding process requires that vacant shifts remain open for 28 days before the police chief can assign staff to those shifts—leaving precinct residents underserved for almost a month. 

With the reforms outlined in the agreement, the police chief would be able to assign officers after just 10 days of a shift being vacant, filling vacancies at a much faster rate and with greater discretion. “This will directly impact communities that we all strive to protect,” Frey said on Friday.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the department is currently down more than  300 officers. While the pace of attrition has slowed, he admitted, “We have not yet stopped the bleeding. I have been clear that we must act urgently to address our hiring and retention crisis, and that includes financial compensation and incentives that reflect the reality that being a Minneapolis cop today is the toughest job in policing.”

Ward 11 Councilmember Emily Koski was concerned that the proposal was being “rushed” to meet the deadline for the city’s 2024 budget—which includes funding for the bonuses—that is scheduled for a vote on December 5.

Councilmember Jamal Osman, representing Ward 6, said he supports the MPD on staffing issues, but questions whether retention bonuses are effective. “I think just throwing money out there is not the solution,” Osman said, noting the money could be sent to a community safety center in the newly approved Third Precinct site. “We can use this money to be more effective…than hoping we will get recruitment.”