For the first time since 1948, the Lubbock Police Department is off the Civil Service system (at least partly) for recruiting and retaining police officers. That gives the city greater flexibility to hire new officers – rewards officers who stay in shape and – if all goes to plan – eventually delivers faster response times to the public.
The City Council unanimously approved a one-year “meet and confer” agreement with the Lubbock Professional Police Association (LPPA) Tuesday.
“Meet and confer” – described in state law – authorizes police officers (or firefighters) to negotiate a deal for salaries and other issues with the city. (We described it in more detail in this story.)
The deal had widespread support from police officers, with two-thirds voting yes.
“The LPPA held a vote by secret ballot on the proposed one-year meet and confer agreement with a total of 395 votes being cast … and with 261 votes in favor,” said the Council’s resolution to approve the agreement.
- Civil Service entrance exams can be administered at any time or anywhere.
- Police can hire officers from other cities with “lateral entry” – allowing an officer to be paid for previous years of experience instead losing credit for previous experience.
- The police chief’s physical fitness program is formalized in the agreement – allowing up to four days of paid time off per year for meeting fitness standards.
“These are three pretty good solid items for a first-time contract,” said Michael Everette, LPPA president.
The deal doesn’t include raises. Both sides agreed the city can’t afford that in the 2025/26 budget, but there are plans to renegotiate pay for next year. (Click here to see our previous story.)
The LPPA agreement is only one year, but it can be extended if a new agreement is not ready in time. And it’s not over. The deal itself calls for negotiations to resume in October or November.
During the council meeting, Jennifer Wilson, Councilwoman for District 5, said, “This council and the city management team are still dedicated to make sure that this comes back, and that you’ll get the financial component of this.”
Anything not covered in the agreement stays under Texas Civil Service law. Lubbock firefighters chose to hold off on a meet-and-confer agreement until a financial package can also be negotiated.
Civil Service in a nutshell
The Civil Service law says, “The purpose of this chapter is to secure efficient fire and police departments composed of capable personnel who are free from political influence …”
- The city can only hire officers or firefighters who meet eligibility based on exams.
- Promotions must follow competitive testing and follow certain rules.
- Disciplinary actions have procedural safeguards.
- A local Civil Service Commission provides oversight and can approve local rules.
The city ordinance to establish a commission was first approved in 1948. Voters in Lubbock approved Civil Service a few months before on December 2, 1947.
Good help, not as hard to find
Lubbock currently has 430 officers, Everette said. The city authorized 454 officers – room for 24 more officers.
Mayor Pro-tem Christy Martinez Garcia said during Tuesday’s council meeting, “You not only have the 24 open positions, but you also have upcoming retirees.”
Everette responded, “It’s hard to say from year to year. We do have a lot of members that are eligible.”
How does the deal help get to full staffing?
Hiring starts with a Civil Service exam. That often means getting a whole bunch of people together – 80 or more is not unheard of.
“The way it is currently, everybody that’s testing … has to start the test at the exact same time and be in the exact same location,” Everette said.
But under the deal, the police chief can send a recruiter from city to city all over Texas at any time.
“Hey, drive to San Angelo and hold a test. And if you get 10 or 12 down there, great. Then when you leave there, drive to Austin, hold a test if you can get 10 or 12,” Everette said.
That means there’s more flexibility to find potential candidates.
And for someone who is already a peace officer in another city or county, Everette said, “They don’t have to take that Civil Service entry test.”
“It just keeps them from having to wait for … doing one test every six months.”
Lubbock can also honor the years of service and pay more when hiring a current officer from another place.
When the LPPA negotiated the deal, the idea was to make hiring quicker – not careless.
“Our big push was we didn’t want to lower standards bringing people in,” Everette said.
Good for officers and good for people
If Lubbock can hire 24 more officers, that’s like adding a whole new shift. That’s how many officers are needed for the department’s minimum shift requirement.
But in more day-to-day terms, Everette said the impact is quicker response times and cases getting resolved faster.
“A few more could be assigned to investigations, lowering caseloads,” Everette said.
“It would allow officers to move into special assignments even for short terms – places like narcotics and gangs that young officers would love to work but we just don’t have coverage,” Everette said.
That’s a big deal for keeping officers happy so they don’t start looking for other jobs.
“Movement and time off are huge for keeping people happy,” Everette said.
The physical fitness program should lead to healthier officers, Everette said.
Officers “who refuse to participate” in the physical fitness assessment without an exemption (like an injury or medical issue) cannot get a promotion or overtime except for emergencies. And such officers can even be subject to discipline.
“Anything that keeps us healthier obviously looks a little better,” Everette said.
Click here to read the agreement for yourself.
