Police overtime

Extra police shifts paid above salary, often to cover homeless-related calls.

What it is

Santa Monica police officers are paid a salary for a normal shift. When an officer has to stay late, come in on a day off, or fill a shift that nobody else can cover, the city pays overtime, usually at time and a half. Overtime is paid from the city's main account, the General Fund.

The city budgets overtime in five police divisions: the Office of the Chief, Criminal Investigation, Patrol Operations, Professional Services and Special Operations. For FY2026-27 the budget plan printed in June 2025 sets those five lines at $9,120,048 in total. Patrol carries most of it, $6,192,623.

On a normal Tuesday overtime pays for things like an officer who makes an arrest at the end of a shift and has to stay to book the person and write the report, a patrol shift left open by a vacancy or an injury, and extra officers at the Pier, downtown or a big event. A large share of patrol work involves homelessness. In one June 2026 week, 22% of police calls ended with a homeless-related disposition, and in 2025 people experiencing homelessness were involved in 2,465 of the department's 3,446 arrests.

The Police Chief decides who works overtime and when. The City Council does not vote on the overtime line by itself. It votes on the whole Police Department budget, and the City Manager can move money between salaries, overtime and supplies inside that total.

This petition line is narrow. It covers only overtime that is not tied to events. Event overtime for the World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the LA28 Olympics is left alone, and no officer job is cut. The $9,120,048 budget is not all non-event: it appears to include about $1.5M of Special Deployments (event) overtime paid from Measure K (FY2025-27 Adopted Budget pp.29, 31), so non-event overtime is about $7.62M (inference, moderate). Our take is unchanged, because it is measured against actual spending.

How it started

Actual overtime has run well above today's budget. The Line Item Detail shows actual overtime in the five General Fund divisions of $12,050,063 in FY2022-23 and $13,777,194 in FY2023-24. The FY2024-25 revised budget was $9,161,950. City officials told the Lookout in 2023 that overtime was needed to fill shifts because of vacancies and officers out with illness or injury, and that the Council had authorized extra overtime to deploy the Directed Action Response Team at the Pier and downtown (secondhand). In June 2025 the police union said the department was funded for 232 officers and had 214, with more than 300 uniform overtime shifts open that month (secondhand, SMDP). For FY2025-27 the department proposed cutting $2.0M from a $9.6M overtime budget. The Council cut $0.5M instead and kept $1.5M for Special Deployments overtime, paid from the new Measure K parking tax (Adopted Budget pp.29, 31). It also told the City Manager to report police and fire overtime every quarter if a department was on track to exceed its salary budget (secondhand, Santa Monica Next). The Realignment Plan followed in October 2025. By March 2026 the city reported full sworn staffing for the first time in over 20 years, helped by 10 over-hire positions (March 24, 2026 report p.6). The adopted FY2026-27 Police budget rose to $152,920,089 from the $131,212,636 plan.

What we take and when

Nothing moves until it is earned. Starting in FY2028-29, if audited actual non-event overtime in the five General Fund police divisions falls at least $1.0M to $1.5M below the FY2026-27 actual, the Council lowers the Police Department budget by that amount and puts the money into bed operating contracts under demand D5. If overtime does not fall, nothing is taken. Event overtime (the $1.5M Special Deployments line and LA28) is excluded. No officer position is cut, and the Chief keeps full control of how overtime is assigned.

The numbers today

General Fund police overtime, five divisions (Chief $381,059; Criminal Investigation $1,286,285; Patrol $6,192,623; Professional Services $317,211; Special Operations $942,870; total is our sum)$9,120,048FY2026-27 budget plan (June 2025) fact
Same five lines, adopted$9,120,048FY2025-26 fact
Actual overtime, same five lines$12,050,063 (FY2022-23); $13,777,194 (FY2023-24)FY2022-23, FY2023-24 fact
Patrol Operations share of FY2023-24 actual overtime$8,703,413, about 63%FY2023-24 inference
Special Deployments (event) overtime kept with Measure K money$1,500,000 a year, inside the overtime budget after a $0.5M cut to $9.6MFY2025-26 and FY2026-27 fact
Non-event overtime budget once Special Deployments is set asideabout $7,620,048FY2026-27 budget plan inference
Pier Fund payment back to the General Fund for Pier Patrol overtime$516,951FY2026-27 budget plan fact
Police Department, General Fund, budget plan$131,212,636FY2026-27 plan (June 2025) fact
Police Department, General Fund, adopted$152,920,089FY2026-27 adopted (Addendum p.11) fact
Police positions (FTE), plan vs adopted; adopted now includes a 37-position Emergency Management and 911 dispatch unit421.0 plan; 478.0 adoptedFY2026-27 fact
Budgeted sworn positions (chief through officer, our sum of titles)234FY2026-27 adopted inference
Share of police calls tied to homelessness (Moss Adams)19%, 17,831 of 93,847 calls; $17,960,711 of police cost attributedFY2020-21 fact
Homeless-related dispositions, calls for service14,196 of 61,866 calls, about 23%Jan 1 to June 20, 2026 fact
Arrests involving people experiencing homelessness2,465 of 3,446 arrestscalendar 2025 fact
Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) team8 officers, 2 sergeants, 1 county mental health clinician; average of 6 officers a monthJan 2026 update fact
Amount the petition takes$1.0M to $1.5M a year, only after audited non-event overtime falls that far below FY2026-27 actualsfrom FY2028-29 inference
Beds that sum runsabout 15 to 23 motel or tiny-home beds at $65,000 each, or 29 to 43 shelter beds at $35,000per year inference

What we give up

We give up $1.0M to $1.5M a year of overtime shifts that the department, by its own numbers, no longer used. That is about 13% to 20% of the non-event overtime budget, or 7% to 11% of FY2023-24 actual overtime (inference). The real cost is flexibility. Money the Chief could have spent on extra patrols after a shooting, like the added Pier and downtown patrols in August 2026, goes to beds instead. If a crisis comes, the Council would have to add the money back with five votes.

Why this works

Homelessness drives a large share of police work in Santa Monica. Moss Adams found 19% of police calls in FY2020-21 were tied to homelessness (Moss Adams p.78), and in 2026 homeless-related dispositions ran about 23% of calls (SMPD). People experiencing homelessness were involved in 2,465 of 3,446 arrests in 2025 (city), and every arrest takes officer time to book and report. When people get help, police contact falls: a RAND study of the city's street team found clients had significantly fewer police encounters in the following year (Moss Adams p.6). Beds move people indoors. In Santa Monica's 2026 count sheltered people rose by 20 while people outdoors fell by 86 (city), and RAND found removing tents without a place to go pushed about three of every four into vehicles or rough sleeping (RAND). Fewer people outside means fewer calls and fewer end-of-shift arrests. We take money only after that shows up in the actuals (inference).

The strongest case against

The Police Officers Association and the Chief would say homelessness is not what drives overtime. Vacancies and injuries drove it: the city itself said so in 2023, and in June 2025 the department had 18 fewer officers than funded and more than 300 open overtime shifts. Now the department is fully staffed for the first time in 20 years, so overtime should fall on its own, and the petition would claim credit for savings that came from hiring. Event overtime is about to explode with the World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and LA28, and no ledger in the city splits event from non-event overtime, so the test is unworkable. Mandatory holdovers after late arrests, court time and training backfill do not shrink because a shelter opens. The city just made arrests a priority, and more arrests mean more overtime, not less. Actual overtime in FY2022-23 and FY2023-24 ran $2.9M to $4.7M above today's $9.12M budget. Taking $1.0M to $1.5M from a line that already runs short invites a mid-year bailout. Finally, overtime is the Chief's tool to put more officers where people gather after a violent incident. The savings may never appear, so beds funded on this promise could be left without money.

Our answer

Much of this is right, and the take is built around it. We count nothing until audited actuals show it, so if hiring rather than beds lowers overtime, the test still compares against FY2026-27, a year that already has full staffing (March 24, 2026 report p.6). Event overtime is excluded. No bed in the plan depends on this line in its first year: lines 1 to 5 cover the partial first year (PLAN D5). The weak point is measurement. The city does not publish overtime split by event and non-event (not established), so the petition asks for that split in the quarterly overtime report the Council already ordered in June 2025 (secondhand, Santa Monica Next). On cause, we claim only what the city's numbers show: about one call in five and seven arrests in ten involve homelessness, and outreach cut police contact for the people it reached (Moss Adams, citing RAND). If overtime does not fall, the take is zero and we say so.

Who decides

Who votes: Santa Monica City Council, seven members, including whoever wins the three seats on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot. The Council sets the Police Department total; the Chief of Police assigns overtime inside it, and the City Manager can move money between salaries, overtime and supplies within the department.
Votes needed: The two-year budget passes with a majority of the Council, 4 of 7. Any change after adoption needs five affirmative votes (FY2025-27 Adopted Budget p.295; City Charter section 1505).
When: FY2027-29 biennial budget adopted about June 2027, with the FY2028-29 second-year update about June 2028 (inference from the June 2025 and June 2026 schedule). FY2026-27 actual overtime is not known until after June 30, 2027, so the test can first be applied at the June 2028 update (inference).
Where the rule is written: santamonica.gov

The agenda or process

Questions people ask

Are you defunding the police?

No. No officer job is cut, event overtime is untouched, and the Police budget rose about $21.7M from the plan to the adopted FY2026-27 budget. We take $1.0M to $1.5M only if non-event overtime falls by that much on its own.

Isn't overtime caused by vacancies, not homelessness?

Vacancies were a big cause, by the city's own account. That is why we measure against FY2026-27, a year the department was already fully staffed. Any further drop is more likely to come from fewer calls.

What if overtime goes up instead?

Then the take is zero. The beds in the plan do not depend on this line in the first year.

Why not cut the overtime budget now?

Actual overtime in FY2022-23 and FY2023-24 ran $2.9M to $4.7M above today's budget. Cutting the budget line without cutting the work would just mean a bigger overrun and a mid-year bailout.

How would anyone know the drop came from beds?

No one can prove it for certain. We ask for the event and non-event split in the quarterly overtime report and count only what the audited numbers show.

Sources

FY2025-27 Operating Budget Line Item DetailOvertime accounts 01180001-5.511400 on pp.396, 400, 404, 407, 412; Police General Fund total p.392; Pier Patrol reimbursement p.227
FY2025-27 Adopted Biennial Budget$9.6M overtime budget cut by $0.5M, $1.5M Special Deployments kept (pp.29, 31); HLP performance measures (p.34); HLP description (pp.199-200); budget vote rules and budgetary control (pp.293, 295)
FY2026-27 Operating Budget Addendum$152,920,089 Police General Fund (p.11); 478.0 Police FTE and Emergency Management unit (pp.34-37); full sworn staffing statement
Realignment Plan Update, March 24, 2026 staff reportFull sworn staffing, 10 over-hire positions (p.6); 2025 calls for service and arrests (p.15)
Moss Adams, City of Santa Monica Homelessness Study, Nov 202219% of police calls tied to homelessness and $17,960,711 attributed cost (pp.33, 78); HLP $1,830,399 primary cost (p.30); RAND street-team finding (p.6)
SMPD 2025 Annual Crime Report124,848 calls, 3,446 arrests, 2,465 involving people experiencing homelessness
SMPD Blue Notebook, June 14 to 20, 202622% weekly and 14,196 year-to-date homeless-related dispositions, 61,866 year-to-date calls
HLP Team update to the Human Services Commission, Jan 20268 officers, 2 sergeants, 1 DMH clinician, average of 6 officers a month
SMDP, city workforce vacancy hearing, June 2, 2025POA: funded for 232 officers, 214 on the roster, 300+ open overtime shifts (secondhand)
Santa Monica Lookout, Police, Fire Dominate Top Earners List, Aug 23, 2023City says vacancies and injuries drove overtime; DaRT overtime (secondhand)
Santa Monica Next, Council adopts 2025-2027 budget, June 25, 2025Council direction for quarterly police and fire overtime reports (secondhand)
Santa Monica 2026 homeless count press releaseSheltered up 20, outdoors down 86
RAND RRA4903-1Tents removed without places became rough sleeping
Petition city funding ledgerTake size, start condition, bed costs and lines rejected

Words on this page

actuals: What the city really spent in a finished year, as opposed to what it budgeted.
Addendum: The document that prints the second-year budget as finally adopted, here in June 2026 for FY2026-27.
appropriation: The amount the Council allows a department to spend in a year.
budget plan: The second-year numbers in Santa Monica's two-year budget. The Council approves them in June of the first year and can revise them a year later.
calls for service: Every call or officer-started incident the police handle.
disposition: How police code the outcome of a call. A homeless-related disposition means the call involved a person experiencing homelessness.
DMH: Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
fiscal year (FY): The city's budget year, July 1 to June 30. FY2028-29 runs July 1, 2028 to June 30, 2029.
five affirmative votes: Santa Monica's rule for changing the budget after it is adopted: five of the seven councilmembers must vote yes.
FTE: Full-time equivalent. One FTE is one full-time job.
full sworn staffing: Every budgeted sworn officer position is filled.
General Fund: The city's main checking account. Most local taxes go in, and police, parks, libraries and most staff are paid out of it.
HLP (Homeless Liaison Program): A Santa Monica police team that contacts people living outside, enforces local laws and connects them to services, with a county mental health clinician.
interim housing: A temporary place to sleep indoors with services, such as a shelter bed, a motel room or a tiny home.
LA28: The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Line Item Detail: The city document that lists every budget account, with two years of actual spending and the budget for the next years.
mandatory holdover: When an officer must stay past the end of a shift, for example to finish booking an arrest or because the next shift is short.
Measure K: A 2024 Santa Monica tax on private parking lots that pays for the $1.5M Special Deployments overtime, among other things.
Moss Adams: The accounting firm that wrote the city's 2022 homelessness cost study.
non-event overtime: All overtime except Special Deployments and event work such as LA28.
OEM: Office of Emergency Management, which runs the city's 911 dispatch and now sits in the Police Department.
over-hire position: Permission to hire beyond the budgeted number of officers so that retirements do not leave gaps.
overtime: Pay for hours worked beyond a normal shift, usually at time and a half.
PIT count: Point-in-Time count. A one-night count of people experiencing homelessness each January or February.
POA: Santa Monica Police Officers Association, the union for sworn officers.
RAND: A nonprofit research organization in Santa Monica that studies homelessness.
Special Deployments: Police overtime for planned events and extra deployments, kept at $1.5M a year in FY2025-27.
sworn officer: A police officer with arrest powers, from officer up to chief, as opposed to civilian staff.
unsheltered: Sleeping outdoors, in a vehicle or in a tent, instead of in a shelter.
vacancy: A budgeted job with no one in it. Shifts left open by vacancies are often filled with overtime.