OUT OF
TOWN COPS
with a one-page email briefly
outlining how the $14 million to
$16 million in savings would be
achieved. According to the outline,
fringe pay — which includes pension and health care benefits —
will cost the county roughly $25
million in 2012. Under the new
county plan, nearly 65 percent of
this spending will be eliminated.
The outline did not break down
the specific spending categories
that would be targeted for savings,
however. And further detail on the
finances of the plan is not avail-
HUFFINGTON
12.09.12
able to the public, Keashen says.
Under the terms of the plan, the
city of Camden’s remaining cops
will all receive layoff notices within the next few weeks. At the same
time, they have the option to apply
for a new job with the county-run
force, though they have no guarantee of employment. And under the
city and county’s interpretation of
state labor law, only 49 percent of
current officers will be eligible for
hire with the new force.
It is a harsh calculus for a department that already suffered sweeping layoffs in 2010 as a result of a
steep budget deficit. But city leaders
say it is the only way forward.
An officer in
the K-9 unit
uses his dog
to search for
drugs.