Saratoga police, firefighters facing layoffs

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Layoff rumors have been circulating for the past few days in Saratoga Springs.

The city could layoff nearly half of its police officers and a quarter of its firefighters.

It was a couple of months ago that we talked to young cop Jason Cadoret of Saratoga Springs about how job security of police work drew him to a career in blue.

"It's a job that I can always have and keep for almost as long as I want to," he said in March.

A little over two months later, Cadoret and 18 of his police colleagues find themselves on the chopping block.

The city needs to make up a $3 million budget gap and the finance department wants the fire and police departments to come up with nearly half.

Dozens of firefighters and police officers showed up for an afternoon meeting because they fear for their jobs or the jobs of their colleagues.

At the meeting the public safety commissioner said he opposes job cuts, but said the only way to make up the gap is to eliminate 18 police officers, one police sergeant and 14 firefighters.

"My wife actually doesn't know yet. I just found out this morning," Officer Lloyd Davis said.

Police Chief Ed Moore told Davis, a five-year member of the department, that he's number 15 on the list of 19 who could be gone.

"We can't do this. We're endangering every police officer that is employed by this city. And we're putting good officers, and in some cases, entire families out of work," Moore said.

The chief says service will suffer. He says he won't have enough people to control traffic at the Saratoga Race Course and the city's popular street festivals would also be in danger.

The City Council will be talking budget at next Tuesday's council meeting.