2026 World Cup Security, Pay Raises Part of Houston Police Department's $1.16B Proposed Budget

A proposed $1.16 billion budget for the Houston Police Department includes $49 million to cover the first-year costs of officer pay raises, along with a significant boost to homeland security in preparation for the 2026 World Cup.

Houston police leaders said for the first time in several years, staffing will account for a less than 90% of the budget, putting it in the company of other major city police departments.

Under the proposed budget, around 88% of the department's expenditures will go to staffing needs, a lower percentage than in most recent years, said Rhonda Smith, deputy director and CFO for the police department, during a Tuesday briefing before the City Council.

"With this budget, this leadership team and this police department, we want to consistently make the department better and more innovative," Executive Chief Thomas Hardin said.

This is the first proposed budget since around 70 civilian staffers took a voluntary retirement offer and exited the department. Department leaders also have called for a department restructuring in the coming fiscal year that will see certain divisions, such as IT and finance, consolidate into the rest of the city to save money.

Overall, most HPD divisions looked set to maintain similar funding to the current fiscal year, or slight decreases.

Among the biggest increases will be to the homeland security division, which will see a 29% increase in expected expenditures, from around $56 million in the current fiscal year up to $73.1 million in the proposal, records show.

The other office set to see a massive uptick is administrative services, which is largely due to a tentative agreement between the city and the police union under which officers will receive 36.5% raises over the next five years.

Once Hardin and other ranking members finished their budget presentation, council members asked questions about some of the numbers included in the proposal.

Council member Abbie Kamin asked whether the department had planned for the possibility that it might not receive the $85 million is has budgeted in grant funds, given the ongoing federal cuts. Smith said at first the department was nervous, but around $20 million is state funding, which is less in question, and they haven't received any letters about their federal funds being at risk.

Some members of council also questioned the decision to budget $58 million for overtime costs, given the department is expected to exceed its existing $65 million overtime budget with around $140 million in expenditures.

"For me, it's about how much we're spending versus how much we're budgeting," Council member Ed Pollard said.

Smith told the council that the department would update members on a regular basis on how projections change during the course of the year. Hardin added that most overtime spending comes because of staff shortages and that department leaders use empty positions to help fund the overtime costs.

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