OAKLAND — This city’s new police chief will earn $365,100 a year once he begins leading the department at the end of next week, along with tens of thousands of dollars to help with moving and housing expenses while he gets settled here.
The Oakland City Council unanimously approved incoming Chief Floyd Mitchell’s contract on Tuesday, setting the stage for his first official day on May 11. His contract runs for three years, until May 2027, and can be renewed for an additional two years without Oakland’s mayor seeking permission from the council.
Mitchell’s contract includes a base salary of $325,000, along with $40,100 in “premium pay” benefits. Those extra benefits include two salary bumps of $16,250 each for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, along with a $6,400 “longevity premium” and $1,200 in a uniform allowance. He’ll also get a monthly car allowance of $750.
In addition, Mitchell will get a one-time $10,000 payment to help offset his expenses of moving from Texas to Oakland. For his first six months, he’ll receive a monthly housing allowance of $3,500, while he looks for a permanent house in the area.
Speaking via a video call before the council’s vote, Mitchell expressed enthusiasm at taking charge of the police department. He also thanked the city for being willing to delay his start date until May 11 while he grieved the death of his brother, who died unexpectedly shortly after Mitchell was named to the post.
“I am truly looking forward to getting there, working with this council, working with my community members and my officers, working with the monitor and everyone that’s involved in making the Oakland Police Department better,” Mitchell said.
The longevity allowance raised the eyebrows of Councilmember Dan Kalb, who wondered why someone would receive an incentive for staying with a department that he was just hired to lead.
“Isn’t that kind of thing something that you give to somebody if they’ve been around for a little while, and this guarantees they stick around beyond that?” asked Kalb during Tuesday’s meeting. “I’ve never heard of a retention bonus the first year someone takes a position.”
The pay bump is among a host of “premium pay” benefits that the city has traditionally given to its chiefs and assistant chiefs of police, as a way to ensure that they don’t earn less than some of their subordinates, said Ryan Richardson of the city attorney’s office. That’s because other members of the police department’s command officers, including deputy chiefs or captains, already receive those benefits through a contract negotiated through the Oakland Police Management Association, which doesn’t represent the department’s chief or assistant chief.
In particular, Richardson said the longevity pay boost is often given to internal candidates elevated to the role of chief, because they would have been at the department long enough to qualify. That incentive also is given to veteran candidates hired from elsewhere in the nation, he added, in a nod to their decades of experience in law enforcement.
Mitchell has 25 years of law enforcement experience, most recently as police chief in Lubbock, Texas. Most of his career so far was spent at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
He’s also at least the 12th person since 2009 to lead the Oakland Police Department. The list includes multiple acting and interim chiefs and a former city administrator who also led the OPD for roughly a year. In both 2013 and 2016, the department cycled through three chiefs within a single week.
“The longevity premium does not guarantee that anybody sticks around,” Richardson said Tuesday. “It’s to incentivize people to stick around.”
The automotive allowance appears to be more unique to Mitchell’s contract.
The income chief negotiated that benefit to avoid having to purchase a second vehicle, Richardson said. As a result, Mitchell could use his city vehicle and “even if he had to use it for the occasional personal trip, he could reimburse the city for the mileage out of that allowance,” Richardson said.
Carroll Fife was the lone councilmember absent from the meeting and did not vote on the contract.
Mitchell’s contract is similar to that of former San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata, who retired in March and was paid a base salary of $332,929.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao earns $216,000 a year. The last Oakland police chief brought in from out of state was Anne Kirkpatrick, who earned $300,000 in pay and benefits when she began leading the agency in 2017. That included a base pay of $270,000, as well as $27,000 in education premiums, a $1,875 longevity premium and $800 uniform allowance — bringing the total package to $299,675.
Staff writer Robert Salonga contributed to this story