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Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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Buda raises police pay by two percent

Buda Police officers will receive a 2 percent pay increase at the start of the new fiscal year,  Oct. 1.


Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd said the increase, which was part of Buda’s $92 million budget, would make the department more competitive with its neighboring counterparts.


“This salary package makes our pay scale very competitive with surrounding agencies,” Kidd said.



The starting pay for Buda officers was $47,589, but will now be increased to $48,548.



Kidd said Buda evaluates the department’s pay scale every three years by doing a comparison with surrounding agencies. Kidd said the starting pay for Buda officers was $47,589, but will now be increased to $48,548.


The salaries for all 19 of Buda’s sworn police officers will increase by two percent, Kidd said. Salaries for the department’s administration positions will not be increased, Kidd said.


Buda’s captain position currently makes $83,500, while the chief position makes $97,920.


During initial budget discussions in July, talk of a salary increase was first brought up. Those talks were initiated after a third-party presented a study showcasing a step program that provides higher pay for officers who stay on the force over a number of years.


Council members approved a step program that increases regular officers’ salaries by $1,500 per year over a nine-year span. Kidd said the department was able to advance several officers within the step plan to adjust for their actual years of service.


Kidd said the new salary package for officers includes additional pay for Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) certificates, education and college degrees and special pay for officers who are bi-lingual, are instructors, work on Crash Team or night shifts.


Kidd said the additional incentives within the new salary package are often referred to as “soft pay,” which he said would not go into effect for officers until April 2018.


This pay raise within Buda Police comes on the heels of a national police officer recruitment shortage, which has departments taking a closer look at their pay and benefits packages.


“This keeps us competitive and will help immensely in recruitment of police officers,” Kidd said.


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