Camden police officers nervously await word on possible layoffs

Before the emergency meeting, officers from all shifts and districts shared jokes and hugs with colleagues they don't see often.

But many of the Camden police officers packed in the union hall quickly grew somber last week as union leaders talked about the imminent cut of millions of dollars in city spending.

After a volley of questions, a detective asked union chief John Williamson, who led the meeting, what guarantee there was that they wouldn't have the same conversation this time next year, in the same hall.

Williamson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1, said, "We may very well be" in the same place in 2011.

For now, Camden officers, like those in some of New Jersey's other cities, face deep cuts because of reductions in state aid from the Christie administration. Layoffs are expected elsewhere, and the threat of lost jobs hangs over the Camden force.

The roughly 390-member department that polices one of the nation's historically most dangerous cities has to cut $13.7 million in salaries and wages to help Camden plug a $28 million deficit for fiscal year 2011.

Mayor Dana L. Redd has ordered all departments to slash 24 percent of costs in time for a city budget to be introduced on Aug. 10. The cuts will be on top of one-day-a-week furloughs Redd imposed in the spring on nonuniformed employees and the loss of 23 workers laid off in 2008.

State aid has typically sustained the struggling city. But Camden expects $46.5 million this year from two state funds that last year doled out $54.1 million, Redd has said.

A third batch of discretionary state aid has also shrunk, so much so that Camden is applying for just $51 million after getting $71 million in the 2010 fiscal year.

But to be eligible for the $51 million the city seeks in Gov. Christie's newly named transitional aid pot, Camden is required to cut salaries and wages.

To mitigate possible layoffs, Redd said, she asked departments to offer budget-saving suggestions.

"The mayor . . . didn't say that layoffs were on the table, but she didn't say they were off the table, either," Williamson said.

Meanwhile, Camden officers are bracing for them.

"One layoff could create a danger to the citizens, let alone 50 to 100 layoffs," said an officer who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak with the media.

He added: "When you close your eyes on the Camden Police Department, you're exposing the citizens to an extreme amount of danger because we're already understaffed."

The department had about 440 officers close to a decade ago. In June, the city hired 50 officers.

One rookie officer, who asked not to be named because he also was not authorized to speak with the media, said he thought the influx of new officers was making a difference.

"Where there used to be drug corners you see kids outside playing, and parents coming out and thanking me," the officer said.

Other urban New Jersey departments could also drastically slash personnel.

Trenton may lose one third of its force if it is reduced by an estimated 110 officers, said Police Director Ernest Williams, who is working on a plan to reorganize by October.

"The layoffs are going to happen," said Williams, a 37-year law enforcement veteran. "This is a disaster. Never, never have we been confronted with a situation this bad."

Williams said he planned to maintain the patrol division in the department of 350 members and make cuts in other units to save $11 million out of the department's $40 million budget.

In Newark, officials face a $16.7 million deficit and are considering reducing the police force by more than 250 officers, the Star-Ledger newspaper reported. As an alternative, officers could be furloughed or could make other concessions on the force of 1,300.

Camden City Council President Frank Moran said retirements and demotions could mitigate the impact of any police layoffs. But receiving even less state aid than anticipated could make the situation worse.

"The actual calculation of $28 million in cuts could be a whole hell of a lot more," he said Friday. "I lay my head down here, my family is in the city, and I am worried. I'm hoping that the community as well as the stakeholders in the city will join forces with us and say, 'Governor, we need your help.' "

The state Department of Community Affairs said it could not comment on specifics until the Camden budget is submitted but officials expect to receive an application for transitional aid. The Governor's Office, criticized by various organizations for cuts in state aid, has repeatedly said tough choices had to be made in putting together a state budget.

Williamson said city officials suggested measures such as giving up longevity - percentage pay bumps based on years of service - and shift-differential pay based on working later scheduled shifts.

"The main thing we want to do is to preserve jobs," Williamson said. "But on the same note, we don't want to go into bypassing our current negotiation process and opening up our contracts for concessions, if it's not a guarantee that our concessions are going to preserve jobs."

The department's rank-and-file and supervisors have been in contract negotiations since July 2009. Three-year contracts that would have expired in December 2008 were extended.

By a show of hands, many of the Camden officers in Thursday's union meeting agreed on one thing: They would not make contractual concessions without concrete figures showing how close each concession would bring them to bridging the budget shortfall, and assurance that jobs would be protected.