Crime & Safety

Long Branch Cuts 37 Positions

In cost-cutting move, city trims 37 municipal positions, including police, fire and DPW

Friday marked the last day for 37 municipal positions—all of which were cut by the city of Long Branch.

The cuts include police, fire and Department of Public Works positions. Of the 37 positions that are being cut, 21 are current employees. Some of the manned positions that will be cut include eight members of the police department and a public works position.

The other positions are vacant jobs, said Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley.

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"There will be reductions in staff in every department," Woolley said.  "Some people have retired, and we won't fill the position," Woolley said. 

An example, he said, is that two firefighters have retired and their positions will not be filled.

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Woolley said the elimination of the 37 positions will save the city just over $2.6 million this year. Woolley said the cuts were necessary for the city to fall within the state-mandated 2 percent levy cap this year.

"They are people we don't want to see go, unfortunately we had to cut nearly $3 million to reach the levy cap," Woolley said. "And even if we are at the cap, there is still an increase in taxes so we have to look at that as well. These are very difficult financial times for our municipality, but we're not alone."

Woolley said he and the finance department, headed by Chief Financial Officer Ron Mehlhorn, must go department by department to determine which cuts are made. He said the positions with most employees are usually those which are impacted the greatest.

"Its a numbers game first and foremost," Woolley said. "Unfortunately, some of our youngest police officers are cut."

He said Civil Service approved the cuts at the end of last year and 45-day notices were then sent out to the employees affected.

"The whole process is horrible, nobody relishes it," Woolley said. "I don't think we're overstaffed in any area, but now we're going to have people doing more things."

The employees who are cut go on to a permanent re-hire list, and those with the most seniority go to the top of that list, Woolley said. If someone leaves the police department, for example, one of the officers who were cut can fill the position.

"We hope to be able to put some of these people back to work at some point, if they're available," Woolley said.

Whatever the future holds for the employees affected by the cuts, Woolley said it is still a hard time for everybody involved.

"The primary thing is you're affecting people's lives and we hate to do it, but it's a part of the times in which we live," Woolley said.


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