City Council set to approve Seattle Police Officers Guild contract that boosts salaries, allows more CARE Department crisis responders

The Seattle City Council Tuesday afternoon is expected to approve a new contract with the union representing the city’s police officers that mixes big raises with agreements that officials say will open the way for the city to grow its CARE Department and dispatch its crisis responders to 911 situations without a police officer to accompany them.

The collective bargaining agreement forged between the Harrell administration and the Seattle Police Officers Guild comes as SPD Chief Shon Barnes faces an uncertain future under incoming Mayor-elect Katie Wilson. Barnes and his top lieutenants continue to tout a reversal in hiring struggles at the Seattle Police Department and say that improved staffing should begin to bear fruit in the coming year.

Building on a previous 23% retroactive raise, the new agreement grants officers a 6% retroactive increase for 2024 and 4.1% in 2025, followed by annual raises of 2.7% in 2026, and a CPI-based adjustment of 3–4% in 2027.

The contract also introduces incentives starting in 2026, offering additional premiums including 1.5% for bilingual skills and bonuses between 1.5% and 4% for educational degrees.

While the agreement breaks little new ground in terms of accountability and oversight, city leaders say they are hopeful impactful change will come from the deal’s CARE Department components. Officials say the new agreement will removes limitations on CARE Community Crisis Responder staffing and expand the types of incidents the teams can be dispatched to, while authorizing “solo dispatch” — allowing the responders to be sent to “low-acuity 9-1-1 calls” without an accompanying police officer.

CARE Chief Amy Barden celebrated the changes at the recent public safety forum on Capitol Hill, saying 911 callers will also be able to request the crisis responders — “I need a welfare check” — as the city’s emergency dispatch team she also manages can determine which department to send.

The new SPD contract also lifts the cap on CARE hiring and opens the door for Barden to grow her team to its budgeted capacity, growing to 96 responders in the department’s first 18 months, Barden said.

The contract is being finalized as public safety spending will reach 50% in the city’s 2026 budget with around $982 million set to be spent here on policing and safety next year.

Meanwhile, in a briefing Tuesday morning to the council’s public safety committee, Chief Barnes said the department is on track to hit its homicide, vehicle theft, and burglary reduction goals.

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