City Announces Police Recruit Layoffs
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Columbus police announced the layoffs Tuesday of the police recruit class scheduled to graduate this week.
According to the Department of Public Safety, 27 recruits were notified of the layoffs as part of ongoing budget cuts.
The recruits were scheduled to graduate Friday.
The mayor’s office is faced with making $13 million in cuts before passing a balanced budget, and city officials said they expect to save $1.2 million with the recruiting cuts.
“As we look at every dime we spend in the Public Safety Department, 90 percent is for salaries and benefits and cutting staff is the most difficult cut possible,“ said Columbus Public Safety Director Mitchell Brown.
Brown said this is the first time in his 36 years that the city has laid off sworn officers or recruits.
The recruits will be the first to be called back when police begin recruiting again, but officials would not say when that could be, adding it depends on the budget.
Mayor Michael Coleman released a comment that read, in part, “It is difficult to lay off any of our employees and even more so to lose these committed police recruits who are so important to the future of the division and the safety of our neighborhoods.“
Officials would not say how much money was already spent on the recruit class.
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Reader Reactions
we need bumper stickers made up with that… “hug a fireman…fire a cop.“
Suggested Coleman 2011 campaign slogans:
“HUG A FIREMAN…FIRE A COP”
Festival Latino (2008): $128,104
Jazz and Rib Fest (2008) $114,519
City Center Purchase (2007) $2,880,000
Street Car Study (2008) $650,000
POLICE LAYOFFS PRICELESS!!
The President and Mrs. Coleman have nothing to do with this issue. However, Chief Jackson did sue the city for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS…and won! The city is paying that lawsuit and as a result…the mayor and city council are taking their frustrations out on the police department! All you hear is that the firefighters have agreed to no raise…go hug a fire fighter. The IAFF is the second coming. All you hear with respect to the police department is that they need to expect more layoffs. Has anyone stopped to realize that while the police do protect and serve, they also bring some revenue into the city with any tickets they write citing city code. The mayor and city council’s moves just seem too suspect!
I have read the posts and I am not taking anyones side, but what do the President, Mrs. Coleman or Jackson have to do with the layoffs in Columbus.
A 4% pay increase in 2007 and a 0% pay increase in 2008 equals 2% a year over the past two years which is below the increase in cost of livng all while Mikey C blows $10 million on his light rail pipe dream study. Hey I bet that Glenn Beck would have fun with this one like he did a couple of years ago with him.
http://ohiogop.blogs.com/state_of_the_union/2005/04/index.html
“Glenn Beck came to Columbus Thursday night to put more pressure on Mayor Michael Coleman to clean up the city’s crime-ridden school district.“
I doubt that Glenn would agree that laying off 27 new recruits is a good way to resolve this issue. Coleman needs to feel some serious pressure for this action and be made accountable for his wasteful spending.
Further to my previous comment, Mayor Coleman laid off these 27 recruits because they are not part of the FOP yet and have no union protection. They were the only individuals that Mayor Coleman could really lay off without being subjected to litigation from the FOP.
Soph-
You complain that the police received a 4% pay increase…let me ask you a question. When was the last time you took up arms and went out into the streets of Columbus to protect the citizens of this city from violent drug dealers, murderers, rapists, etc? These officers put their lives on the line every time they put on their uniform. While I believe in freedom of speech in this Country, you are just an uneducated person. The FOP asked the city for an opportunity to respond with the ways that they could cut spending within the police department. The city, as it has done in the past few weeks, acted rashly and didn’t give the FOP the opportunity it had asked for. The negotiations between the FOP and the City are on-going. The Police Department has been working without a contract and you know what, they aren’t even allowed to go on strike because people like you need protecting! You should go do a ride-a-along and see just how dangerous it is to be a police officer! You should really do more research before you speak. The FOP is there to protect the officers and their families because of the ultimate price that the officers could pay as a result of their jobs!
Even though the union did not behave as the Mayor would have liked, this decision is not a good one. A lot of money was spent on educating and certifying these recruits to defend this city and it’s people. These are the lowest paid people on the police force. This decision is impacting 27 families. Why not offer early retirement to those that are near retirement? These are the people that are probably more prepared for retirement and frankly are paid a lot more. The city is losing money on this decision if you ask me.
Soph,
Hey! can you read? The police had no raise to give up thats why they took no action. Your 911 priviledges should be taken away because of stupidity! The people you speak badly of protect you! You are the only person on here who had a bad thing to say about police. You must be a Coleman employee or one of few supporters he has that actually can use a computer.
Layoffs are layoffs, but to do this 3 days before they graduate borders on evil. If they were allowed to finish, they could at least apply to some other police department and be out there protecting and serving. What a waist of all those months of training. This is political gaming at its ugliest. How petty. How disappointingly petty.
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