By Janis Mara
Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.
VALLEJO, Calif. — The Vallejo City Council approved $2 million to help recruit and retain police officers and also appropriated $1.2 million for public safety measures early Wednesday morning.
The vote on the $1.2 million passed unanimously, while the $2 million retention and recruitment item passed 6-1 with Mayor Andrea Sorce opposed. The council will need to vote one more time on both items to give final approval.
The $2 million includes a $15,000 bonus per hire to recruit experienced police officers, $15,000 per officer to incentivize existing officers not to quit and bonuses of $5,000 each to officers who refer successful job candidates.
The Vallejo Police Department has been understaffed for years, with a state of emergency declared by the city in July 2023 . Businesses and residents have long suffered from slow police response time, among other issues, and bonuses are a common recruitment and retention tool.
Seven members of the public spoke in opposition to the $2 million in bonuses during the public comment period.
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Resident Jimmy Genn said the police department “has already been well compensated in the past few years,” urging the council to vote no on the item.
“Why are we giving two million dollars in retention bonuses to a department that has not been reformed?” asked Kris Kelly, the co-chair of the ACLU’s Solano County chapter. Kelly’s brother, Mario Romero , was shot and killed by Vallejo police officers in 2012.
Vallejo resident Sherianne Grimm said, “Tonight, you’re being asked to approve $2 million in recruitment and retention bonuses for a police department under California Department of Justice oversight—with no performance requirements, no reform goals, and no accountability. That’s not just fiscally irresponsible—it’s ethically indefensible.”
Vallejo’s police department has been rocked by years of scandals, deadly officer-involved shootings, payouts in settlements of lawsuits claiming excessive use of force and plummeting department staffing. The department has completed 27 of 45 reforms mandated by the California Department of Justice addressing bias, lack of police accountability and use of force.
“I understand the desire to attract officers, but the real solution is supporting genuine reform and improvement of culture —reform that addresses ongoing misconduct that tarnishes our city,” Grimm said.
“It took state intervention just to force basic accountability for previous misconduct. The DOJ oversight and settlement itself is a clear sign that the department has not earned the public’s trust. Yet, here we are—offering cash with no strings attached again. ... “Bonuses should reward performance, integrity, and improvement—not be handed out while egregious misconduct continues on unchecked,” Grimm said.
Sorce said, “I don’t think this builds trust. I’ll gladly support our good officers but I’ve got to see it done thoughtfully, in a way that will build trust. My concerns are with the lack of transparency. ...You can see from the community’s reaction that this is not meeting the moment. I’m going to vote ‘no’ on this.”
Council Member Alex Matias said, “It’s interesting to hear the public discourse over the past couple months depending on what issues we’re talking about.”
Matias was referring to the fact that for years, residents have pleaded for additional police officers for the severely understaffed department.
The council in June approved an $11.2 million contract for the Solano County Sheriff’s Office to provide supplemental policing services to the city, though factors including union opposition has since held up approval from the Solano County Board of Supervisors .
“Now we have a plan in place that could potentially accelerate the number of officers coming into the agency and we’re having a very different conversation,” Matias said.
“When folks are losing their lives the number one comment on social media is, ‘Why isn’t the Vallejo City Council doing something about public safety? The response times aren’t acceptable.’
“It’s very difficult for me on the one hand to hear that cry for help from the community” and not approve a plan for recruitment and retention, the council member said.
Police services and crime prevention are the number one concern of Vallejo community members, according to a city poll that ran online Jan. 13 through March 16 .
After the item passed, Kelly described herself as “infuriated,” criticizing Council Member Helen-Marie Gordon , who responded by saying she, too, had “lost someone from violence.”
The council passed the $1.2 million appropriation for crime deterrence measures unanimously. The measures include purchasing security towers, developing a block party program, re-establishing a safety-oriented school program and subsidizing park programs for youth. The Vallejo VISION plan is also part of the measures.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday but didn’t start until 7:39 p.m. The vote on both items came after midnight. The meeting adjourned at 1:02 a.m.
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Originally Published: July 9, 2025 at 4:25 PM PDT
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