Yonkers PBA: Budget is ‘devastating’ to police department

<p>Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano&rsquo;s 2019 budget proposal is not sitting well with the police department.</p>

News 12 Staff

Apr 14, 2018, 8:20 PM

Updated 2,414 days ago

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Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano’s 2019 budget proposal is not sitting well with the police department.
The new $1.15 billion budget revealed Friday calls to slash some 200 city jobs – the heftiest cuts coming from the force.
“We've already eliminated every foot post and shrunk down every specialized unit down to a number that's already unsustainable. So honestly, I don't know what they plan on doing,” said Yonkers PBA President Keith Olson.
The budget proposal calls to cut 55 police officers and demote 17 sergeants. Police say cuts to the department will lead directly to a rise in crime.
“Crime will go up in every aspect. If people call the police, it will take longer for us to get there. There will be less cops on patrol to catch people in the act of doing crimes,” said Olson. “There will be less people to investigate those crimes. In every aspect of policing, we'll be devastated.”
The City Council’s deadline to pass the budget is June 1.