(Texas Scorecard) – Mayor John Whitmire has finalized a contract agreement with the Houston Police Officers’ Union to raise the salary of first-year police officers to $81,000.
The agreement, which also includes expanded benefits, will make Houston’s 5,200 police officers the highest-paid in Texas. Previously, officers’ first-year salary was set around $60,000.
“If we do not improve public service, nothing else matters,” said Whimire at a news conference Friday.
The agreement includes a 10 percent raise in July 2025, an eight percent raise in 2026, six percent in both 2027 and 2028, and a 6.5 percent raise in 2029. In total, the agreement will lead to a greater than 36 percent increase in base pay.
Whitmire said the agreement would cost Houston taxpayers $832 million over five years. Still, the mayor assured that the budget he will propose next week will be balanced and will incorporate the changes under this agreement.
He said his team was able to overcome the city’s widely reported 2026 budget deficit.
“This is generational for this police department,” said Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz, adding that right now is a great time to consider becoming a Houston police officer.
Executive Chief Thomas Harding said that the negotiations were conducted in the best interest of the citizens of Houston.
“This is a monumental, generational contract for our police department that will carry on for a very long time,” stressed Harding.
“Our compensation package for our younger officers had been choking our ability to recruit and retain,” he added.
Whitmire said that the sentiment among rank-and-file law enforcement after the deal was that “somebody needs to tell the courts to get ready.”
He further announced that the Houston Police Department would be doubling down on citations.
“Ticket revenue, traffic enforcement, for many years was the second-largest revenue stream,” Whimire said, explaining that revenue had fallen, partially as a result of dysfunctional courts.