Camden firefighters received layoff notices this weekend, which they say has caused additional anxiety and worry in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Courier Post.
Kevin Cooper, one of a cohort of firefighters hired in 2017 as part of a $2.4 million Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, spoke with Post reporters about the developments. But provisions of that grant have changed and now the city and the department need to create a plan to make up that shortfall.
Among other things, this plan called for reducing overtime; leaving six open positions dark; and reducing the number of battalion chiefs, captains, other top-tier officers and administrative personnel.
City administrators met with officials with Cooper’s local as well as CFD Local 2578, which represents officers in the department, earlier in the year to hammer out ways to make up for the shortfall while mitigating the negative impact on response times and firefighter and civilian safety.
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