HAYWARD, Calif., April 22, 2026—The Hayward City Council approved labor agreements and related measures on Tuesday to reduce overall personnel costs and help balance the City’s General Fund budget for the upcoming 2027 Fiscal Year starting on July 1.

In total, the agreements and related measures will save more than $7.5 million in Fiscal Year 2027 and make a big difference in closing the projected budget gap. They follow actions taken this past November, December and January—including layoffs and other staffing reductions—that helped close a $26 million General Fund deficit in the current fiscal year. 

The General Fund pays for most core municipal services, including police, firefighting and emergency medical response, code enforcement, permitting, maintenance, library and related administrative, communication, legal and information technology support services and operations.

“Our employees are an extraordinarily dedicated and talented team that deliver outstanding services to the Hayward community,” Hayward City Manager Jennifer Ott said. “I’m very grateful these public servants have agreed to partner with us to address our fiscal issues so we can continue to deliver for Hayward.”

The agreements amend existing labor contracts and were negotiated as City Manager Ott and her administration prepare to present a balanced budget for the upcoming 2027 Fiscal Year.

Overall, most Hayward city employee unions agreed to defer until the end of Fiscal Year 2027 all or a portion of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) their members were due to receive at the start of the fiscal year on July 1. The deferred COLAs range up to 4 percent of salary. In addition, unions representing Hayward firefighters and police officers agreed to continue staffing adjustments initiated during the current fiscal year that are helping significantly to reduce City overtime expenses.

City executives and other employees not represented by a labor union also will defer until the end of Fiscal Year 2027 COLAs they were due to receive starting July 1. The deferred COLAs for executive employees are 4 percent of salary and other unrepresented employees are equal to 3 percent of salary.

Meanwhile, the Mayor and City Council agreed to forego entirely a salary increase that would have taken effect on July 1 and is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while City Manager Ott agreed to forego in Fiscal Year 2027 monetary benefits equal to 4.5 percent of salary and the City Attorney and City Clerk are deferring 4 percent COLAs as well.

The City Council is scheduled to begin public deliberations on City budgets for the upcoming fiscal year next month starting with a General Fund operating budget work session tentatively scheduled for May 12.