Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schluer is seeking City Council authorization to “overhire” three police officer positions.

A number of officers on worker’s compensation leaves has caused staffing levels to become significantly strained.

It is requiring frequent backfilling of shifts to maintain minimum coverage levels.

 This has led to increased mandatory overtime, officer fatigue, and operational stress, impacting morale, safety, and service delivery.

Three officers have been unable to perform law enforcement duties following traumatic incidents.

Medical providers have indicated that these absences are not short-term, and return-to-duty timelines are currently unknown. These absences date back to June and October 2025.

 In addition, there are other officers on worker’s compensation who are either projected to return later in 2026 or are working in limited, modified-duty capacity.

Overhiring is a temporary staffing strategy intended to maintain operational continuity during prolonged absences and does not permanently increase authorized staffing levels.

Costs for the new positions are expected to be partially offset by reduced overtime currently used to backfill extended workers' compensation claims.

The move, if the City Council approves it when they meet Tuesday, will adjust the current budget by $242,000 — $162,500 in salaries and $79,500 in operating costs that overtime savings won’t cover.

Salary expenses incurred by the “overhires” after July 1 would be reflected in the 2026-2027 fiscal budget.

In the best case scenario, it may take several months to be all three positions filled due to recruiting and background checks.

The Manteca Police Department has 83 sworn officer positions.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com