Anxiety of firefighters, police amid news of Camden layoff plan

They are nervous and scared, wondering how they will be able to pay their mortgages.

In interviews, Camden officers and firefighters say they are bracing for layoffs of more than 200 people. Those layoffs, they say, will mean lost jobs for newlyweds, new parents, and employees whose salaries support families.

Officers and firefighters would talk only under the condition of anonymity, because they are not authorized to speak for their departments.

The Police Department, which faces a roughly $13.6 million deficit, is slated to lose 180 uniformed positions out of 373 positions, according to the city's layoff plan approved by the Civil Service Commission.

"If I lose my job, I lose my house," said an eight-year Camden patrol officer, who has worked for two other police forces.

The officer makes about $72,000 a year, and a third of his monthly salary - about $1,900 - goes to his mortgage, he said. He and his live-in girlfriend have a toddler son. She makes about $10,000 a year working part time, he said.

Most of the Police Department's reductions - 148 - would be patrol-officer positions.

"There is absolutely no way anyone could not be concerned about public safety and officer safety if they were to move forward with these numbers," said John Williamson, president of the rank-and-file police union.

The city's layoff plan also calls for the reduction of an additional 33 nonuniform positions. The Fire Department could lose about 67 positions out of 220.

On Tuesday, veteran and young firefighters gathered at a Camden firehouse wearing shell-shocked faces as news of the cuts circulated.

"Everybody is on edge," said a veteran firefighter, who expected to be demoted because of the layoffs.

Anxiety hangs over them as they do their work, he said.

"The guys come in, they do their jobs in a professional manner. They know that come Jan. 18, they're going to be laid off," he said.

One young firefighter said he was a member of the department's last academy class in 2006, which graduated 34 members. All are expected to be laid off, he said.

"I have been trying not to think about it," said the firefighter, who has a wife and young children. "I don't know what I am going to do."

A Camden police officer, one of about 50 rookies hired this year to patrol the nine-square-mile city, one of the nation's most dangerous, took a steep pay cut to be part of what he saw as a revitalization of the city under the current administration.

"I think they were making steps in the right direction," he said. "I believed in the future of this city."

The officer, who is in his 30s and married, made about $65,000 annually, with overtime, working a public-safety job. His salary with Camden is about $30,000 a year.

He turned down a job with another department to join Camden's.

"I won't be able to pay my bills. I won't be able to pay my mortgage. Basically, that will leave me without a job and not much hope for finding a job."