The Yonkers City Council voted 5-2 to override Mayor Phil Amicone's veto of a budget that includes sharp cuts from the overtime of police and fire departments.

During a special meeting Friday morning, Yonkers police officers and firefighters called on the city council to restore their funding. However, the council decided to keep its spending plan in place, complete with $2.2 million in overtime cuts. The budget also calls for property taxes to be increased by 5.8 percent instead of the 6.6 percent proposed by Amicone.

Responding to accusations that the council's plan will jeopardize public safety, as well as the safety of police officers, council members blamed Amicone for failing to propose alternative ways to balance the budget.

"He came to the table with nothing," says Councilmember Liam McLaughlin. "We gave him an opportunity to make this work, to find ways to make it happen. "