ntee, and the new contract states the chief can work up to 32 hours a week at another job.

Pay parity with fire department

Because of how the city charter is written, there is pay parity between the city's police and fire departments. The increase in city dollars for the police chief could mean a pay raise for Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson.

This comes months after the police board gave police supervisors a raise. That raise would also be due to supervisors at the fire department.

Spencer said the city is still evaluating how the new contract will affect the fire department and other city budgeting, saying it happened with no warning, no consideration and no collaboration with the city on how it would be executed.

Tracy on the quick turnaround

Tracy spoke with First Alert 4 on Saturday, the day the police board met to approve his new contract. Tracy said there were opportunities in other places, which he cited as a reason for the quick turnaround between the public notice of the emergency meeting and when the police board met Saturday morning, a span of about 18 hours.

 We're in high profile positions. So, if information is getting out as you're doing that, sometimes the timeliness of this, you have to make sure that we're getting this done,  Tracy said.

Tracy said money is not what motivates him.

 That money, that's not what motivates me. What motivates me is success in what we're doing in policing,  Tracy said.

Mayor questions the move

Spencer spoke with First Alert 4 on Monday and was asked how the board's latest action addresses SLMPD's biggest problem: adding and retaining officers on the streets of St. Louis.

 In my view, David, it does not,  Spencer said.  In fact, it is counter to those stated values and those stated initiatives. 

Spencer said the new contract includes more than the $110,000 in additional salary. She said it also includes a provision covering health insurance, worth another $5,000 to $10,000, and a new $25,000 contribution to a newly established retirement fund, adding at least $30,000 on top of the $113,000. She said the contract also includes a new two-year buyout clause if a future board decides to end the contract, as well as a 20-month extension on the contract.

Spencer said the cost of the chief's raise draws from the same finite police budget used for hiring new officers and addressing their salaries. She said the city has estimated the chief's incremental cost to be over $1,000,000, not including the resulting pension liability and the effect on the fire department.

 I'm floored. I'm flabbergasted. And frankly, I'm a bit outraged that the taxpayers are picking this up and the taxpayers have almost no oversight on these, not only the police department, but certainly the actions of the board,  Spencer said.

Sunshine Law concerns

Spencer said it is clear to her that the board did not follow the Sunshine Law, and the city is reviewing the matter closely. She said the board has shown a pattern of this kind of action and called it an unelected board that is accountable to no one.

Asked why the contract had to be finalized so quickly on a Saturday, Spencer said it was not something that had to be rushed. She said it was her understanding that the police chief set a deadline of 5:30 p.m. Friday to renegotiate a salary, which was later extended to 1:30 p.m. Saturday. She said she was given no answer as to why the timing was important.

 The chief is currently under contract for the next two years and some months. And so there was no outstanding offer from any other jurisdiction that I'm aware of. There was a hypothetical potential interest mentioned, but that is no reason to act with such haste and certainly on a Saturday with no prior warning that we would be handling a multi-million dollar decision,  Spencer said.

Surplus questioned

Asked how the city could cite a recent multimillion-dollar surplus while saying there isn't enough money to address the police department's needs, Spencer said the city did have a surplus this year. She said the majority of that surplus came from unexpected revenues from companies not expected to be continuing sources of revenue, calling it a financial windfall.

Spencer said the remaining portion of the surplus was tied to vacancies in city departments, including the streets department, forestry department and the jail, which she said need to be filled. She said the police department also had a surplus last year, but that surplus would not cover the additional officers needed to police the streets of St. Louis, noting the department has lost several hundred officers in recent years. She said reaching budgeted strength requires those dollars and more.

Board's role

Spencer said that in the board's last public hearing with public input, the board stated that it does not view its role as overseeing the chief or the department, but instead sees its job as providing the chief of police with what he needs.

Previous contract and UMSL role

Tracy previously signed a contract with SLMPD in December 2025 for $183,000. He was also slated to earn $100,000 as an education consultant at UMSL. Tracy told First Alert 4 he intends to sunset the paid role after this year. First Alert 4 is waiting for a response from the university.

Spencer said Tracy negotiated his current salary with the board just a few months ago, reaching a three-year agreement that included a UMSL contract. She said the board's decision to revisit that agreement is insulting to the city, which she said worked in good faith to secure that contract.