Columbus Lays Off 27 Police Recruits
From The Columbus Post-Dispatch, January 27

COLUMBUS, OH – A Columbus police recruit class of 27 officers has been dismissed to save money.

Safety Director Mitchell J. Brown met with the recruits this afternoon to tell them they have been laid off. They were to be sworn in on Friday as Columbus Police officers. Mayor Michael B. Coleman's administration is trying to save $13 million to avoid deficits in this year's budget.

The recruits will complete their training and will be paid for 30 days as civilian employees of the Police Division while they look for other work, according to a statement released around 5 p.m. The statement left the door open for the recruits to be re-hired if the city's economic outlook improves.

The police union last week rejected Coleman's call for a pay freeze and filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint with the State Employment Relations Board.

Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 President Jim Gilbert said the union sent a counter-offer to Coleman today, but didn't hear back. He would not describe the union's offer.

Gilbert criticized the city's decision to lay off the recruit class, saying it cost the city $1.4 million to train the recruits. "Taxpayer dollars in Columbus just trained 27 police officers to go anywhere in Ohio," Gilbert said. He said he was told that cutting the class would save $1.2 million in salary and benefits this year.

Brown defended the decision in the city's statement: "As we look at every dime we spend in the Public Safety Department, 90 percent is for salaries and benefits, and cutting staff is the most difficult cut possible."

The firefighter union agreed to delay its pay raises this year, saving the city about $3 million. Coleman promised on Monday not to lay off firefighters and praised their sacrifice. Coleman has also asked the police and three other city worker unions to forego raises to help save money.

"It is difficult to lay off any of our employees, and even more so to lose these committed police recruits, who are so important to the future of the division and the safety of our neighborhoods," Coleman said in the city's statement. "Today's headlines of massive job cuts across the nation are another reminder that it may continue to get worse before it gets better."