Five officers with the Donna Police Department resigned after the city reduced the department’s budget, Channel 5 News has learned.

In September, city leaders said a loss of over $2 million in revenue caused them to slash over $1 million from the city’s police department budget in the form of longevity and retirement pay.

Resignation letters obtained by Channel 5 News show one officer cited concerns with employee benefit changes. A second former officer cited overtime funding, and a third cited longevity pay and changes to retirement matching.

The other two officers did not give a reason for their resignation.

Donna Mayor David Moreno previously told Channel 5 News the majority of the revenue loss stems from the March 2025 closure of the immigration processing facility that was located in Donna.

READ MORE: Donna city leaders considering reducing police department’s budget amid revenue loss

Donna Police Chief Gilbert Guerrero said he acknowledges some of his officers are concerned with the city's recent cuts to longevity pay. 

“It was a huge hit to their income,” Guerrero said.

Donna officials said city police officers and city employees were paid $500 a year in longevity pay in previous years.

Donna City Manager Jorge Pena said that had to change.

“The city is not in a position right now to afford it, with the different knocks we took when it comes to revenue with the loss of the immigration camp, the decrease in sales tax regionally,” Pena said.

The longevity pay was lowered to $48 per year. 

“It is very much in line with the rest of the state," Pena said.

Pena said the recent resignations are just a glimpse of a trend of high turnover at the Donna Police Department. Documents shared with Channel 5 News show the city has lost a total of 18 officers since January 2024.

Competition from other agencies also plays a role in the turnover rate, Pena said.

“It's difficult to compete with larger departments like the city of McAllen, Harlingen, city of Edinburg and federal agencies like ICE with $50,000 bonuses,” Pena said.

According to Pena, the city is discussing the possibility of raising the base salary for Donna police officers. The base salary is currently at $46,000.

“We are looking at raising our base pay up to about $50,000 or $51,000,” Pena said.

Guerrero said the department currently has 24 police officers to ensure every shift is covered, and that they can reach out to neighboring police departments for mutual aid.

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