NIAGARA FALLS, NY - Four police positions are at stake in the City of Niagara Falls, as Mayor Paul Dyster and council members are debate over whether to make cuts to the city’s police department.
And, there’s some encouraging news for those who don’t want the cuts to be made. That’s because one council member, who was initially for those cuts now says he’s undecided.
That would be council member Kenny Tompkins, the only Republican on council. He says he won’t make his decision until Thursday, that’s when the next budget meeting is in city council.
There are two detectives and two police officers who say they plan to retire at the end of the year. Council voted to not fill those jobs, however, Dyster late last week vetoed those cuts. It’s now up to council to decide whether to override that veto.
REPORTER: We’ve heard from the superintendent of police on this, saying that there certainly would be public safety impacts when you’re saying about having few officers out there on the streets are you concerned about public safety?
"Always concerned about public safety, keeping our folks safe is important but at the same time but when we feel we can cut through attrition we’re going to do that," said council member Andy Touma.
Also at that Thursday budget meeting, council will decide what kind of tax increase there will be next year.
REPORTER: Why in this particular area? I'm sure you probably agree the city does have a crime issue.
"I agree with you, but again it’s a matter of how do you address that issue? You can’t find the savings anywhere else? We can’t find the savings anywhere else," said Niagara Falls council member Charles Walker.
Council members in favor of the cuts say the city could save $260,000 by not filling the jobs and say they can’t find that type of savings anywhere else in the budget. The state comptroller's office predicts the Falls could face a $12 million budget gap by 2019 due to the city's reliance on casino revenue.