FULLERTON : Petition Aims to Stop 4 Police Officer Cuts
Merchants and residents have begun a petition drive to persuade the City Council not to eliminate four sworn police positions.
The City Council says budget constraints are dictating the job cuts, which will come in the form of attrition. Council members have tentatively agreed to make the cuts and will take action at a meeting Tuesday.
Meanwhile, residents are standing at mini-malls and supermarkets, knocking on doors and visiting businesses to add names to the petition.
It states that its purpose “is to emphatically disagree with the council’s action and respectfully request that the Fullerton City Council on June 20, 1995, change their position and vote to maintain the existing police officer manpower level. . . . Simply put: No police cuts, retain our current police level!”
The petition has about 500 signatures so far, said resident Allan Morton, who drafted it.
Officials said the cuts in the Police Department are among many other service reductions necessary to balance the city’s $81.7-million annual budget.
Police have said that street patrols will not decrease because civilians will take desk jobs, while more sworn officers will be placed in the field.
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