N.J. City Will Rehire 30 Laid-Off Officers

ATLANTIC CITY -- The city is preparing to rehire 30 police officers who were laid-off last year, officials confirmed Thursday.

"It's a full-fledged effort," city Business Administrator Michael Scott said. "And we will be elated when those officers are back on the street undertaking the safety of the community."

The goal had been to have the officers sworn in by May 1 and ready to return within a week or so after training.

"The mayor has said he would definitely like to have those officers back by Memorial Day," Scott said.

The city lost 60 police officers in two rounds of layoffs last year. So far, 20 have returned, including 17 under a concession agreement that took effect Dec. 1 that also promised the ranks would not fall below 300.

But Scott said Thursday that Mayor Lorenzo Langford has always wanted the department at 330 members.

"That is the operating level he's comfortable with," Scott said. "We are accomplishing that."

While the city is still awaiting state approval on the rehire list, Scott said physicals and background checks already are being scheduled to help speed the officers back to work.

The budget Langford presented to City Council on Feb. 23 had money allotted for the 30 officers, but council has not voted on the plan despite several meetings having passed since the spending plan was introduced. But the city is going ahead with the rehires anyway.

"I will confirm the process has begun," Deputy Chief Ernest Jubilee said after meeting with the police union's executive board.

Jubilee, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the department, also attended roll call early Thursday to tell the working officers of the pending returns. Word then spread quickly.

PBA President David Davidson Jr., who recently saw three returning officers go through the process, said he believes the officers likely would be back within the first weeks of May.

The three officers who filled vacant spots in the department were sworn in March 28 and returned to duty April 5 after a week of training and weapon recertification.

"I anticipate it will probably be an ongoing thing," Davidson said of getting the 30 officers back to work.

He said he did express some doubt when Jubilee gave him the news but that Jubilee assured him it was true.

"When they're standing in Council Chambers in front of their families with their hands raised and they're back to work, I'll believe it," Davidson said. "Until then, cautiously optimistic is the best way to put it."

The return of 30 would trim the number of officers remaining laid off to eight after two were removed from the potential list due to administrative issues.

Scott said there are plans to get them back to work at a later date and that if the mayor wants to stay at 330 officers, that could be done to fill in from retirements and other personnel losses.

The mayor also is looking forward to bringing the city's firefighting ranks back to operating levels he feels more comfortable with, Scott said.

The city laid off 30 firefighters last year, but a two-year grant from the federal government has them close to returning to work. The $9.7 million grant is under the SAFER program, or Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response.

The paperwork to return the laid-off firefighters was submitted April 4.

"This could happen pretty quick," Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said Thursday. "We're just waiting on fingerprints and the results of the background checks."

The city also is awaiting a state-approved list to hire 21 new firefighters, whose salaries also would be covered under the grant. Once that happens, the process would begin for the fire academy, which is run by some of the city's ranking firefighters.

The mayor would like the Fire Department to have 245 members, Scott said.

There currently are about 210, which has resulted in the closing of several fire companies during each shift because there are not enough people to man all of the equipment, Brooks said.

He said he believes there will be about 10 more retirements this year, meaning those 51 firefighters the grant will fund will be greatly needed.

"We could ultimately be pretty close to where the mayor wants us to be with the 30 returning and the 21 more," Brooks said. "I think, when all is said and done, we're going to be right around the 240 mark when everybody retires within the next two years."

That's good news for the 21 potential new hires, who are being guaranteed employment only for the two years of the grant. If Langford is committed to keeping the ranks around 245, that could mean those new hires will not be looking for new jobs in 2013.

But if not, Scott said, "at least this will enable them to receive top-notch training and assistance in learning fire procedures."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service