Budget ax falls: Layoffs stun Taunton cops and firefighters
by Laurel J. Sweet
Saturday, May 31, 2003
The city of Taunton - a designated emergency center should disaster strike the Plymouth Nuclear Power Plant - will lay off nearly half its police and firefighters on June 30 to plug a $6.8 million budget fissure.
Fifty pink slips were hand-delivered to the fire department yesterday afternoon by City Solicitor Steven Torres, who said 47 more will go to police and another 25 to public works employees by Tuesday.
``I can't believe it,'' Torres said. ``It's horrible.''
Taunton police Chief Raymond O'Berg, forced to let go 40 percent of his 118-member force and demote 13 superior officers, warned he'll only be able to put four cops on the streets at any one time to cover 50 square miles and nearly 60,000 residents.
He said plainclothes detectives will return to uniform patrols, while priority is given to 911 calls resulting from violent crime and injury.
``Anything else, you're on your own,'' he said. ``Somebody is going to die as a result of this.''
The news is no less dire for firefighters, whose complement will plunge from 122 to 72, while three of five stations are closed.
``You're looking at response times that could be eight to nine minutes,'' said firefighter Dutch Powell. ``We do 8,000 runs a year, including medical calls. It's not going to work. The numbers don't crunch.''
Torres said the city must compensate for $2 million in lost state aid in the upcoming fiscal year and $4 million in health-care hikes.
Officials hope to minimize job losses by having families pay $52 per year more for trash collection and $36 per year more for sewer service. Voters may also be asked to increase taxes by $138 per household to fund a 20-year debt exclusion on longterm city projects.
``I'm optimistic that everybody will do the right thing,'' Torres said. ``I think Taunton can pull through.'' |
