Cops concerned over layoffs in Naperville

Naperville police are voicing concerns about possible job cuts that could eliminate 10 positions from their department.

City Manager Doug Krieger confirmed Monday that layoffs have begun citywide but wouldn't discuss how many police or other employees will be cut until they all have been notified.

The city has been battling what was once a $14.1 million budget hole and has identified $3.5 million in savings related to personnel.

Vince Clark, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 42, said 10 police positions are among the cuts, including two officers who graduated from the police academy Dec. 11.

Krieger said the city originally believed it could keep the two new officers on staff.

"We continued to monitor and evaluate the budget situation and continue to do that to this day so the extent of the personnel cuts are as small as possible," he said. "Unfortunately, the economy has continued to work against us."

While police training is subsidized by the state, the city is now on the hook for unemployment costs for the two officers.

The other police cuts, according to Clark, involve a deputy chief, the positions of two potential retirees whose spots won't be filled and five additional vacant officer positions.

Krieger refuted the inclusion of potential retirees but would not go into detail.

The city is in the midst of contract negotiations with its patrol officers whose contract expired in May 2009. Because the department had just hired two new officers, Clark said the union did not believe it would be hit with layoffs and does not feel it was properly notified.

"We understand layoffs but we were never given the opportunity ... to have talks with the city to have concessions, alternatives or to express our concerns," he said.

The cuts, he said, pose a public safety concern since the department already operates below the national average for staffing.

Krieger said layoffs are a possibility in every department, including police.

"We feel we followed through all the requirements of the collective bargaining agreements and had to make some very, very tough decisions," he said.

In terms of public safety, he said it's not a surprise Naperville's officer-to-resident ratio is lower than average due to the city's demographics and low crime rates.