During the Jan. 14 City Council meeting, Cibolo Police Chief Thedrick Andres shared that the police department has a total of 10 vacancies. Staffing has increased 33.33% since staffing reports from July and August from 33 employees to 44 employees. Following an agreement with Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, the City Council increased the number of positions in the police department to better serve the community.
The overview
Andres said the vacancies fall within three divisions of the police department, including the patrol division, school resources officer unit and criminal investigations.
Of these categories, there are:
- Four patrol vacancies
- One SRO sergeant vacancy
- Four SRO officer vacancies
- One detective vacancy
Andres told City Council that all potential employees must take the entrance exam from the city, even if applicants have passed an exam from other departments or academies.
With the start of this initiative, the police cadet position has had an increase in applicants, with a total of 132 applicants interested in the position as of Jan. 3, Zikus said.
What they’re saying
While the police department is making efforts to recruit additional officers, council member Katie Cunningham raised concerns about the amount of overtime costs.
In the presentation, Andres shared that the amount of overtime costs in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget was nearing $60,000 as of Dec. 20. In FY 2023-24, the city spent slightly more than $100,000 on overtime costs. A fiscal year in Cibolo ranges from October to the end of September, meaning the city entered the second quarter of the fiscal year in January.
City Manager Wayne Reed said the city has the largest events of the year in the first quarter of the fiscal year, which has led to the increased overtime for city staff. At the start of the fiscal year, city events which required public safety staff included Cibolofest, the tree lighting and the holiday parade.
Reed said the other quarters of the fiscal year should not result in the same amount of overtime expenses as the first three months.
Cunningham and Mayor Mark Allen suggested offering incentives to help pull employees with experience as a way to fill positions without waiting for applicants who are sponsored while attending an academy.
“We know we are going to stay on this trend for another three to six months at minimum,” Cunningham said.
Moving forward
Andres told City Council that the police department will continue recruitment efforts and look into possible incentives to encourage more experienced officers to apply for vacant positions.
